EASTERN CAPE – University of Fort Hare coach Simphiwe Mafene knows his charges have to come away with nothing less than a full house of points against TUT in their Hollywoodbets Super League clash on Sunday.

Heading into the weekend, the home team lie fifth in the Super Rise stream after notching up one win, three draws and forfeiting points and two goals to Ezemvelo Women’s FC due to missing the game through transport issues.

Despite their current position on the table, the Baby Wolves have been impressive in the revamped Super League and will relish the opportunity to take on the Pretoria side in Alice.

Four matches will take place at the Davidson Stadium across Saturday and Sunday in accordance with the league’s new “weekend festival” format.

The structure of South Africa’s premier women’s football competition was changed this year from 16 teams in one section to two streams of eight, named “Super Rise” and “Super Era”.

This move is aimed at easing the financial burden on clubs, building stronger match-day experiences and strengthening the broadcast product.

It also paves the way for a two-division structure from 2027, after which promotion-relegation matches will further enhance the competitiveness of the league.

Mafene is under no illusions about what is at stake for his side, who first qualified for the league in 2024 and surprised all and sundry to end that maiden campaign ninth overall.

If they hope to feature in the top tier next year, they need to start racking up the points on their side of the draw.

He believes they can do exactly that on Sunday.

Fort Hare did the double against TUT last season, registering a 2-1 away win and demolishing them 4-0 in the return fixture at home as part of a run that saw them finish fourth on the final log.

However, Mafene will not be resting on his laurels against a team that is currently third on the log.

“They are well structured, and their game has improved a lot,” he explained earlier this week. “They tend to play from the middle of the park.”

Fort Hare will look to exploit their defence and front line, where TUT have struggled to find the right combinations, Mafene explained.

“We can’t allow them the space to play, so we are aiming to put them in panic mode from the start.”

The statistics reflect that the Alice side have been strong in defence all season long, despite the recent departure of Banyana Banyana goalkeeper Palesa Moletsane to Super League defending champions Sundowns.

That said, it is goals – and plenty of them – that Mafene is after.

He banks on the likes of Banyana forwards Kesha Hendricks and Michelle Sampson, who are both in excellent form this season, to lead the charge on that front.

In light of their drawn matches, the clashes against UJ and JVW later in the season take on extra importance as losing is simply not an option in what may become a frantic chase for points.

Having had a “test run” against the aforementioned in the first phase of the competition, the Fort Hare mentor is confident he knows enough about their strengths and weaknesses to plot their demise.

On Saturday, UJ take on JVW, while City Lads are down to play Ezemvelo Women’s FC.

Ramatlaohle Ladies will meet First Touch FC in the first game on the final day, followed by Fort Hare’s match against TUT at 15:00.

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