The 2022 Hollywoodbets Super League season has come and gone and Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies have been officially crowned the champions for the third year in a row, 2019/20; 2021 and 2022.
The Brazilians wrapped up the league title last month already before heading out to the CAF Women’s Champions League tournament where they won silver.
Back at home in the Hollywoodbets Super League, the four Gauteng-based sides finished in the top five – with the University of the Western Cape (UWC) the odd one out in second position.
Third was the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), JVW in fourth place and the University of Johannesburg (UJ Ladies) fifth.
The battle for second place was fought until the final whistle of the final day – with the tussle between TUT and UWC.
The Tshwane side, which occupied the spot until the few last matches of the season, still stood a chance of reclaiming their position and their victory over Golden Ladies early on Saturday gave them hope, and meant UWC had to win against Durban Ladies.
The Western Cape outfit duly delivered as they romped home two goals to the good (2-0) with no reply from the KZN side – as they (UWC) retained their second position, claiming it for the first time since playing in the league.
The 2022 season had 16 teams for the first time ever, with relegation and promotion coming into play.
The North West and the Free State will be without a team after Golden Ladies and Tsunami Queens were axed from the top tier league and will begin life in the Sasol League next season. Also compounding matters is the relocation of Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies from the Free State to KwaZulu Natal.
But there are exciting times ahead as the elite women’s league welcomes two newcomers – Copperbelt Ladies and Tuks Ladies.
This means there will be three teams from Limpopo in the 2023 Hollywoodbets Super League next season (Copperbelt Ladies, Ma-Indies Ladies and First Touch FC), while four institutions of higher learning will be represented by four clubs – UWC, TUT, UJ Ladies and Tuks Ladies – making it five teams based in Gauteng, alongside JVW.
Both Golden Ladies and Tsunami Queens departed the league with a good hiding – falling 5-1 and 5-0 to TUT and JVW respectively.
There was a reprieve for 2022 newbies – Vasco da Gama of Cape Town and City Lads Ladies from Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape – as they managed to hold on to their statuses, after overcoming hiccups earlier in the season.
Vasco finished in position 14 with 22 points – just nine more than Golden Ladies, while City Lads ended 12thwith 29 points.
The Capetonians rounded off their season with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Mpumalanga’s Coal City Wizards, with City Lads and Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies sharing the spoils in a 2-all draw, a result which saw Celtic Ladies drop from a spot down to sixth, overtaken by UJ Ladies who defeated First Touch 1-0.
In other matches, Ma-Indies beat Thunderbirds Ladies 2-1, while the champions-elect, Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies were made to sweat in their 4-2 win over a stubborn Richmond United.
The Brazilians had to come from behind twice before their experience and class showed as they won the tussle to end the season with a record 82 points in 30 outings. They were almost flawless throughout season as they lost only two matches, drawing one and winning 27. They also scored a massive 126 goals, while conceding only 13 in the process.
Richmond United finished seventh – bettering last season’s 11th place finish.
JVW captain Nompumelelo Nyandeni is the 2022 Hollywoodbets Super League top goal scorer with 30 goals – an impressive run after she was joint leading goal poacher along with Sundowns Ladies’ striker Andisiwe Mgcoyi.
2022 vs 2021
- Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies (Champions in 2021)
- UWC (3rd in 2021)
- TUT (2nd in 2021)
- JVW (4th in 2021)
- UJ Ladies (9th in 2021)
- Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies (6th 2021)
- Richmond United (11th in 2021)
- Ma-Indies Ladies (8th in 2021)
- First Touch FC (5th in 2021)
- Durban Ladies (10th in 2021)
- Thunderbirds Ladies (7th in 2021)
- City Lads Ladies (promoted from Sasol League in 2021)
- Coal City Wizards (12th in 2021)
- Vasco da Gama (promoted from Sasol League in 2021)
- Golden Ladies (13th in 2021) – RELEGATED IN 2022
- Tsunami Queens (14th in 2021) – RELEGATED IN 2022
THIS IS HOW THE 2022 SEASON WAS WRAPPED UP
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | ||||
| 1 | Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies FC | 30 | 27 | 1 | 2 | 126 | 13 | 113 | 82 | ||
| 2 | UWC | 30 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 55 | 13 | 42 | 68 | ||
| 3 | TUT Football Club | 30 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 75 | 33 | 42 | 65 | ||
| 4 | JVW FC | 30 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 82 | 33 | 49 | 60 | ||
| 5 | University of JHB FC | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 59 | 41 | 18 | 51 | ||
| 6 | Bloem Celtic Ladies | 30 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 37 | 22 | 15 | 51 | ||
| 7 | Richmond United | 30 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 63 | 51 | 12 | 48 | ||
| 8 | Ma-Indies Ladies | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 42 | 45 | -3 | 47 | ||
| 9 | First Touch FC | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 28 | 48 | -20 | 38 | ||
| 10 | Durban Ladies FC | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 32 | 45 | -13 | 37 | ||
| 11 | Thunderbirds Ladies | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 40 | 50 | -10 | 35 | ||
| 12 | City Lads | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 36 | 75 | -39 | 29 | ||
| 13 | Coal City Wizards | 30 | 7 | 2 | 21 | 34 | 63 | -29 | 23 | ||
| 14 | Vasco da Gama | 30 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 31 | 66 | -35 | 22 | ||
| 15 | Golden Ladies | 30 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 27 | 107 | -80 | 13 | ||
| 16 | Tsunami Queens FC | 30 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 15 | 77 | -62 | 10 | ||
On Saturday, 3 December 2022 individuals who excelled during the season will be honoured when the Hollywoodbets Super League Awards ceremony is held in Johannesburg.
By Matlhomola Morake
