Two of the nine women’s clubs vying for promotion to the upper rank at the ongoing Sasol National League promotion play-offs at the Dr RP Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein have secured berths in the semi-finals. These are the University of Fort Hare from the Eastern Cape, and Gauteng’s Croesus FC.
The university side did so after they narrowly beat KwaZulu-Natal’s Lindelani Ladies, 1-0 to cushion on their 4 – 2 victory over the Royal Wizards. Croesus disposed of their opponents Sasol Juventus 5 – 1, and Royal Queens 3 – 2.
Fort Hare scored an all-important goal against Lindelani in the first stanza of the game, capitalising on the opponent’s defensive blunder. The university team defended the only goal until the final whistle. The club’s gutsy captain and defender, Okuhle Stemela, was rewarded R1 500 for her stunning performance in the match in which she thwarted Lindelani forwards from equalizing. She superbly marshalled the backline alongside Sesethu Jaxa.
The impressive form make both Croesus and Fort Hare hot favourites for automatic promotion of the nine clubs vying for the two available slots in the Hollywoodbets Super League, the country’s top division for women.
The university outfit’s promotion will see them increase to three clubs from the Eastern Cape in the top rank, joining City Lads Ladies from Gqeberha and the Thunderbirds Ladies from Butterworth.
The other semi-finalists will be determined in crucial matches tomorrow. It will be a do-or-die for the hosts, the Ixia Ladies of the Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State after they played to 1-all draw with Ramatlaohle. The latter side booked a semifinal slot, nevertheless. The Ixias are under immense pressure to win against the University of Cape Town to secure a spot in the semifinal.
The overall winner is guaranteed a grand prize of R200 000, the runner-up R100 000 while the third-placed achiever will take home R60 000.
