Thursday’s Varsity Football round seven fixtures are destined for a spectacle, with two of the four semi-final spots still up for grabs.

The University of Free State and defending champions the University of Johannesburg have already booked their semi-final tickets after securing 13 points respectively but will hope they can now also secure a home semi-final.

Meanwhile, the Tshwane University of Technology (11 points), the North-West University (9 points), the University of Pretoria (9 points) and the Vaal University of Technology (7 points) are still in contention to make the top four.

The final round of fixtures:

TUT vs UFS (17:00)

In the early kick-off, TUT faces Kovsies and a draw wouldn’t be the worst result for both teams, as it would all but confirm TUT’s spot in the top four with 12 points and notably a +4 goal difference, while UFS would secure a home semi-final. However, with a win, TUT could overtake the visitors on the log and secure themselves a home semi-final. In case of a loss, TUT needs to hope that one of Tuks or NWU will not win their respective games.

Wits vs UP Tuks (18:30)

Meanwhile, UP-Tuks need to beat bottom-placed Wits away from home and ideally by a decent margin to up their top four chances. With a goal difference of -2 right now, Tuks have work to do after losing to UKZN last week. A draw wouldn’t be enough for Tuks, as either NWU or TUT would overtake them, no matter the result of their direct clash.

UJ vs UKZN (18:30)

In the match between UJ and UKZN, a draw or win would secure the defending champions a home semi-final, while UKZN only has pride to play for after finally collecting their first win in 2022 against Tuks last week.

NWU vs VUT (19:15)

The NWU-vs-VUT clash is promising fireworks, as both sides have all to play for. A NWU win would see them move to 12 points on the log and all but secure their semi-final place, while a VUT victory would put the visitors in contention to still make the semi-finals, should Tuks not win their game. With a draw, NWU would need to hope that Tuks don’t win their last fixture, while it would be the end of VUT’s 2022 Varsity Football road.

What the rules say:

In case one or more teams will end with the same amount of points, these are the tie breakers that will determine which side will finish higher on the log.

• 7.2  Where two or more teams have equal points, goal difference (i.e., goal scored FOR minus goals scored AGAINST) shall be used to determine relative log positions.
  
  
• 7.3  Where teams have equal goal differences, the number of goals scored FOR shall be used to determine the relative position (i.e., the team with the greater number of goals FOR will be positioned higher).
  
  
• 7.4  Where teams have an equal number of goals scored FOR, the number of goals scored AGAINST shall be used to determine the relative position (i.e., the team with the lesser number of goals Against will be positioned higher)
  
  
• 7.5  Where teams have an equal number of goals scored FOR and AGAINST, the aggregate of the direct results between the tied teams shall be used to determine the relative positions (head-to-head outcome)
  
  
• 7.6  If we still do not have a result, the total number of red and yellow cards will be used, with a red card counting as 2 yellow cards. The team with the least number of cards levied against them shall go ahead.
  
  
• 7.7  Where the teams are still on level terms, after 7.1 to 7.6 was considered, the two teams concerned will have a play-off match, at a date, time and venue decided on by the Tournament Organising Committee.
  • 7.7.1.  In the case of a draw in a play-off match, the teams will have a penalty shoot-out, thus no extra time will be played.
    
    
  • 7.7.2.  In the case where the teams are still tied at the end of the penalty shoot-out, sudden death (the first team to miss when the other has scored) will be applicable.

Summary:

• TUT, NWU, UP-Tuks and VUT all have the chance to qualify for the semi-finals

TUT qualify, if:

• they beat UFS
• they lose and at least one of NWU or Tuks loses or draws their games
• they draw and both NWU and Tuks win their games but by a lesser margin than +3 goals for NWU or less than +6 for Tuks (in this case semi-finalists will be decided on goal difference as all three teams would be equal on 12 points)

If TUT lose and both NWU and Tuks win their games, then TUT doesn’t make the semi-finals.

NWU qualifies, if:

• they beat VUT and Tuks draw or lose
• they beat VUT AND Tuks don’t beat Wits by more than +4 goals
• they draw with VUT AND Tuks don’t beat Wits

Tuks qualify, if:

• they beat Wits AND NWU doesn’t beat VUT

If Tuks and NWU both win, the goal difference will decide, with NWU currently on +1 and Tuks -2. In this case, Tuks need to better NWU’s goal difference to overtake them.

If Tuks draw, they will be out because either NWU or VUT would overtake them (either based on points or goal difference), no matter the result in their direct clash.

VUT qualifies, if:

• they beat NWU AND Tuks draw or lose to Wits (in case of a Tuks draw, VUT would be ahead based on the better goal difference)

Good luck to all teams in their final round-robin fixtures.

To all fans, make sure you flock to the stadiums to support your favourite team and create an electric atmosphere Varsity Football has never seen before.