NWU continue to hold the umbrella at the summit of the log table. But how long will it last? Will they end the competition at the top of the log? Maybe they will win the round robin stages, but the answer to that question will be revealed at the end of the round robin matches at the end of the month.
The action in Round Three kept the fans warm and some on the edge of their seats. Who thought that UWC would still be searching for their first win of the season after three games? Wits on the other hand, surrendered their unbeaten record away to UJ. Limpopo are no longer leaking so many goals; they conceded just two in their past two matches and they are showing some improvement. Here are Round Four’s predictions.
UKZN 1-3 UJ
UKZN are now being targeted for easy points. They have successfully donated nine points from their past three games. Will UJ be another beneficiary of the three easy points? The answer to that question will be answered in KZN when the two teams take to the field. On paper UJ should just pitch up and return to the City of Gold with a bag full of points.
But then again football is not played on paper.
The interesting thing is that their home defeats were tightly contested affairs against Wits (2-3) and NWU (0-2). It’s a tricky call to predict the outcome of their next game in front of their loyal supporters.
NWU 2-1 TUT
Without a doubt this is the pick of Round Four matches. Sparks are set to fly in the biggest game of the week. TUT have showed that they can cope without the backing of their loyal fans after they were punished by their own university, having to play all their matches away from home following their supporter riots during their 2-0 loss to rivals Tuks in last year’s cup final.
No home ground advantage, no problem for TUT. But NWU are on fire and they have won all their three games – two of them at home. It’s a difficult match to call as just two points separate the two teams and both of them are unbeaten in the competition.
Wits 1-2 UP-Tuks
Wits tasted their first defeat of the competition away to UJ in the previous round, while Tuks tasted their first win of the competition. Will Tuks make it two wins from two or will Wits suffer back-to-back defeats? It’s a tight one, but Tuks look good on paper and they seem to have finally settled in the competition. They are the favourites to return to the capital city with maximum points. But Wits will not give them the points without a fight at home.
UWC 1-0 Limpopo
This is the battle of two teams that are yet to win a single match in the competition. Just one point separates the two teams on the log. The loser will no doubt be rooted to the bottom of the log table. Limpopo have shown some improvement in their past two games and will draw some inspiration from their 1-1 draw against a strong TUT in Round Two.
They will also be encouraged by their slender 1-0 loss to log leaders NWU in Mafikeng last week.
Maybe this could be the game where they finally register their first win of the season. On the other hand, UWC have lost all three of their matches. They cruised to a 1-0 defeat to TUT at the famous Operation Room in the previous round. Will they lose again? The fans will hope not. Expect a tight game.
By Charles Baloyi – Daily Sun and Sunday Sun sports writer
