WRAP - TUT fight back, UWC edges NWU; UJ and Tuks both net five

UJ and Tuks both scored five goals in Round 2 of the Varsity Football women’s tournament at the University of Pretoria on Thursday, while TUT fought back to draw their match with Wits and UWC edged NWU.

The teams will have almost no time to rest with Round 3 matches taking place later in the day.

TUKS 5-1 DUT

Having upset TUT 2-0 on Wednesday night, Tuks made it two from two by thrashing the tournament debutants, who also conceded five goals in their first game against Wits.

Tuks led 3-0 at half-time in this Group A match at the Tuks B-Field thanks to goals from Betty Mallela, Nthabiseng Mlotshwa and Sibahle Ntuli. Patience Mlotsha extended the lead in the 50th minute with a tap-in and then turned provider with an inch-perfect cross for Wendy Shongwe that eliminated the DUT defender and goalkeeper. A long-range strike from Tuks captain Morongwa Manamela in the 60th minute completed the rout. Mlotsha won the FNB Player of the Match award.

UJ 5-0 UL

UJ bounced back from their opening-round 3-1 defeat to UWC with an emphatic Group B victory at Tuks Stadium. Lerato Lefa, Kelebogile Putu and Refilwe Maseko all scored in the first half, with Putu completing her brace in the 53rd minute. Amanda Mthandi then rounded off the win with some individual brilliance in stoppage time.

The result revived UJ’s semi-final hopes while UL are out of contention, having lost 2-0 to NWU on Wednesday. UJ made a great start when Liya Sarfundin passed the ball to Lerato Lefa, who did the rest. Kelebogile Putu then scored from Refilwe Maseko's assist to make it 2-0.

UL captain and goalkeeper Kgothatso Manamela was furious with her defenders, who could not keep up with the UJ attackers. Sarfundin unlocked the UJ defence with her mesmerising passes to make it easier for the UJ front line. In the 19th minute, UJ skipper Maseko scored a scorcher from outside the 18-yard box to beat Manamela and make it 3-0.

UJ should have gone on to score more than three goals in the first half, but Manamela made save after save for UL. With the result beyond doubt, the tempo slowed in the second half as UJ did not push forward like they had done in the first. However, they were still able to score two more goals and will go into their second match of the day against NWU full of confidence.

UWC 1-0 NWU

Khanya Xesi’s 62nd-minute goal gave UWC their second successive win. UWC had beaten UJ 3-1 on Wednesday while NWU had claimed a 2-0 win against UL.

This tightly contested Group B match at the Tuks B-Field looked to be heading for a stalemate before Xesi struck with eight minutes remaining to secure the win and the FNB Player of the Match award.

TUT 2-2 WITS

TUT showed character to come from behind and force a draw in an entertaining Group A encounter at Tuks Stadium. The six-time champions looked to be dead and buried when Wits led 2-0 after 30 minutes thanks to goals by Lesego Nkoane and Shakeerah Jacobs, who won the FNB Player of the Match award.

But Nompumelelo Tshabalala pulled one back for TUT on the stroke of half-time and then scored an equaliser in the 43rd minute to rescue a point. Having lost 2-0 to Tuks on Wednesday, another defeat here would have ended TUT’s semi-final hopes. They will play DUT in their final group game later on Thursday.

Wits, who thrashed DUT 5-1 in their first match, made a strong start against TUT, with Nkoane’s beautiful free kick from a long way-out beating goalkeeper Zusiphe Hlaneka. Wits grew in confidence after the opening goal and caused TUT all sorts of problems. On the half-hour mark, Nkoane played an over-the-ball pass to unlock the TUT defence and Jacobs side-footed the ball into the net.

But Wits then went to sleep and allowed TUT back into the game. On the stroke of half-time, Tshabalala scored from a fantastic free kick, hitting the ball with power and precision to beat Nthabiseng Ramaisa in the Wits goal. Tshabalala then made it 2-2 early in the second half after connecting with a well-taken corner by Tshegofatso Aphane.

VARSITY FOOTBALL WOMEN’S FIXTURES ROUND 3 (THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER, 30):

DUT vs TUT – Group A (17:00, Tuks B-Field)
UJ vs NWU – Group B (17:00, Tuks Stadium, SuperSport Variety 4, channel 209)
UL vs UWC – Group B (18:30, Tuks B-Field)
Tuks vs Wits – Group A (18:30, Tuks Stadium, SuperSport Variety 4, channel 209)