TUT finished best of the three Varsity Women’s Football teams in the inaugural SAFA National Women’s League (SNWL).
There was one round of action remaining when the SNWL season was suspended in mid-March, but the national association have now declared the season over due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic with the unfinished matches being designated as 1-1 results.
The decision meant that champions-elect Mamelodi Sundowns, who held an unassailable lead anyway), are officially crowned queens of South African football – matching their male counterparts. The only blemish to The Brazilians’ erstwhile perfect record of 21 wins from 21 matches is that their record will now read as 21 wins from 22 matches with one draw.
That draw is reflected as being against runners-up TUT – who finish nine points behind Sundowns on 55. The six-times Varsity Women’s Football winners lost only once, away at the eventual champions in November 2019, and picked up 17 wins and three draws in their completed matches. . Interestingly, TUT scored as many goals as Sundowns, 82, and the joint-leading scorers Hildah Magaia and Rhoda Mulaudzi (36 goals each) come from the two teams.
Sipho Mabuza’s TUT charges also emerged on top in the ‘mini-league within the league’ between the three universities. They beat UJ in both clashes (including a 10-0 mauling in Soweto in mid-January), but couldn’t manage to do so against UWC who held on for a draw in Pretoria in mid-February.
UWC (6th)and UJ (8th), TUT’s perennial Varsity Women’s Football challengers, finished mid-table of the 12 teams – which will go up to 14 when the second season can commence.
UWC’s 20 completed matches yielded 26 points from six wins, eight draws and six losses while UJ won more matches, eight, but drew only once and lost 12 times as they claimed 25 points.
RESULTS OF UNIVERSITIES’ ‘MINI-LEAGUE’
TUT 3 UJ 2 (Saturday, 14 September 2019)
UJ 0 UWC 2 (Saturday, 19 October 2019)
UWC 2 TUT 3 (Sunday, 27 October 2019)
UJ 0 TUT 10 (Saturday, 11 January 2020)
UWC 6 UJ 1 (Saturday, 8 February 2020)
TUT 2 UWC 2 (Sunday, 16 February 2020)
By Carlo Jonkerman
