30 August 2018 – Wits won’t be taking UL lightly when the men from the North travel to Johannesburg on Thursday at Wits Stadium. The men from Braamfontein currently sit at second on the table behind arch-rivals UJ and will want to catch them up with a win over UL.
With the competition coming to a close with the semi-finals only two rounds away, UL will want to prove to the Varsity Football watching public they are worthy of a win.
Wits Vice Captain Mahle Mtabane explained that Wits won’t underestimate the winless UL.
“Playing against a wounded team is always difficult. We know UL is going to come at us hard looking for their first win in Varsity Football campaign. All we have to do is carry on working hard and staying true to ourselves by maintaining our own style of play.
“I think it’s safe to say that this will be our toughest, so it would be a good thing to stay mentality prepared and do not underestimate them. The past two years we’ve been in a similar situation in this tournament, so they will be coming hard I’m certain of that. They have nothing to lose, unlike us.”
Wits will host UL at Wits Stadium at 16:00 on Thursday, 30 August.
UJ look to Cape Town to secure log lead
The Orange Army will travel to UWC on Thursday and will be hoping they can extent their winning run to secure their log lead. UJ have gone undefeated in this tournament thus far, with four wins and one draw, their latest victory being against a lethal TUT side.
UWC have had a less than an impressive season with only one win in five games. Salie Adam’s men will know that a victory over the log leaders will give some pride to their season.
UWC host UJ at 18:30 on Thursday, 30 August at the UWC Sports Stadium.
Noble Boys feeling the pressure
NWU are under no illusion in that a victory against UP-Tuks is imperative to secure a semi-final spot when they travel to Pretoria on Thursday evening. After their recent defeat to Wits, NWU are just one point ahead of UP-Tuks and a loss to the Stripe Generation would be detrimental to their title hopes.
NWU captain Wendell Martin admitted that his side is under pressure but are focused on getting the win.
“This week’s game against UP-Tuks is crucial for us. Because we are coming off a defeat against Wits, that result put us under pressure because Tuks are now one point behind us. We’ll be looking at increasing our chances at qualifying for the semi-final and a positive result sets us firmly in the semi-final.
“Our focus and concentration is what let us down in our last two games but I’m hopeful that the team stays focus and concentrated in crucial moments of this game.”
NWU will kick-off against UP-Tuks at 18:15 at Tuks Stadium on Thursday 30 August.
UKZN take on tough TUT
The men from Durban face a stern challenge when they host TUT at the Howard College Stadium on Thursday.
The Varsity Football debutantes have had a tough season so far, but managed to pick up their first points after a dramatic 3-3 all draw against UWC last week.
UKZN will take confidence from the win but will know what a threat TUT will pose.
TUT have been ruthless in the pursuit of victory this season, with the Tshwane side showing a professional balance of attack and defence. TUT have won three games and drawn one, out of five fixtures, and will hope to extend their winning record against UKZN. The Durban boys are currently in a wooden spoon bout with UL but a win over TUT would set them apart from the Polokwane-based side.
UKZN will host TUT at 18:30 at the Howard College Stadium in Durban on Thursday, 30 August.