30 January 2020 – The South African Football Association’s (SAFA) maiden Women’s National League has already lived up to the hype and billing that it promised upon its official launch and continues to improve with every match-day.
Tshwane giants Mamelodi Sundowns and Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) seem to be running away with proceedings and proving to be unstoppable. Can the likes of third placed Bloem Celtic somehow narrow the gap at the top or will the top two clubs continue their dominance?
Saturday, 1 February, will see four mouth-watering fixtures taking place, the first of which has table-toppers Sundowns traveling to Jan Smuts Stadium to take on a struggling Thunderbirds Ladies. Sitting in a precarious tenth spot, Ladies will be banking on home support in order to get something out of this fixture against a battle-hardened, intimidating opponent. Downs on the other hand will be looking to keep up the momentum with another valuable three points and their 16th victory in as many games. Kick-off is at 12h00.
Bloem Celtic then play host to bottom-placed Richmond Ladies in a 15h00 afternoon kick-off at Siwelele Park, with the home club hoping to keep up the pressure on their top two rivals. They are currently on 35 points after 16 matches, six points behind second-placed TUT. Richmond have battled thus far and have only managed two wins from 16 with a goal difference of -44. Can they turn the tables on their Free State rivals?
In another 15h00 showdown, second-from-bottom Tsunami Queens entertain fourth placed First Touch Academy at Bohlokeng Stadium, in what should prove to be a battle of attrition. Queens will be looking to recover from an 8-0 drubbing at the hands of Downs last weekend, while First Touch will be looking to consolidate their impressive fourth place position. They have so far amassed 26 points from 15 games with a healthy goal difference of +15.
The final match of the day will see two in-form teams clashing at AW Muller Stadium in Auckland Park as Durban Ladies make a long trip to take on the University of JHB. Kick-off is also scheduled for 15h00. The Ladies are still celebrating a hard-fought 2-1 win over Coal City Wizards which bought them some much-needed breathing space while JHB were impressive 1-0 winners over Golden Ladies away from home. Pundits are predicting a close encounter and a cagey affair with both teams cancelling each other out. JHB are currently in 6th place while Ladies sit in 8th.
Sunday’s lone fixture (2 February) will see high-flying TUT welcoming 9th placed Golden Ladies to TUT Main Stadium. Kick-off for this one is at 15h00 and the match will be screened live on SABC 1. The Ladies have only managed three wins this term and will be hoping for another against a team who are gunning for the title and are the highest scoring team with 64 goals.
City Wizards and University of WC have byes this weekend.
Upcoming fixtures, recent results and current log standings are always available at mywww.safa.net/wnl.