For the first time, the University of the Free State’s (UFS) women’s team qualified to compete for promotion to South Africa’s senior league.
This became possible after a hard-fought win over the team’s arch-rivals, and three-time winners, the Ixias FC of the Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State, Welkom campus.
The Free State Sasol Women’s League final fixture between these two teams was played at the stadium of the Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State, in Bloemfontein, on 8 September.
An invasion of the pitch during and after the match by the Kovsie players and fans, in celebration, attest to their desperation to win at all costs.
The pitch invasion began with celebration after the team had converted a penalty kick, levelling the scoreline at 1 – 1. This relieved Kovsie of the lingering memory of being eliminated four times in a row by the gutsy Ixias.
The pitch evasion by Kovsie fans
The Welkom team won in their previous three meetings.
The memory of elimination haunted the Kovsies when Ixias defender Masabata Mathapo scored a brilliant goal in the first stanza.
However, the equaliser from a penalty kick inspired the Kovsie team to hold on until the end of the tension-filled fixture.
The UFS team, under former Banyana Banyana player Jabulile Baloyi’s teachings, converted four penalties as the Ixias missed two out of five spot kicks.
Celebrations by the UFS’ fans and players continued long after the championship decider had ended.
Ixias player in tears after losing the Free State Sasol Women’s League
The buoyant team will compete for promotion to the senior league during the play-offs set to take place early in October.
Baloyi reiterates that this was a must-win match for her team, in view of their promotion aspirations.
“It is very important we fight to get promoted, to benefit as a team, but also for the province. It will bolster the standard of women’s football in the province and expose rich talent.
“There are plenty of young, talented players in the Free State who need exposure to the highest level of football to realise their dream.
“I believe qualifying for the national promotion play-offs and securing a promotion to the senior league will be very beneficial in this regard,” says Baloyi.
The Free State has remained without a team in the women’s senior division, the Hollywoodbets Super League, since the sale of the Bloemfontein Celtic women’s team franchise to Royal AM and the relegation of the Qwaqwa-based Tsunami Queens team franchise.
