UJ heading to semi-finals

It was a tough night on 1 September for all the teams as they battled it out for a spot in the final four.

UJ, North West University (NWU), University of Pretoria (UP) and Kovsies made their way into the semi-finals with University of the Western Cape (UWC), University of Cape Town (UCT), University of Limpopo (UL) and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University heading home.

UJ ended the round-robin stage on top of the Varsity Football standings after a 1-1 draw to UL in Johannesburg.

A heated first-half ended goalless. A confident UL came out blazing in the second half, giving the UJ defence a tough time as they kept up their attack.

UL piled on the pressure though and were eventually rewarded when Clyde Kgatla scored from a free-kick beating UJ goalkeeper Trent Harrison with a swerving shot to find the back of the net.

UJ soon hit back when an attack on the visitor’s goal resulted in a scramble which saw UL’s Taelo Mphahlele turn the ball into his own net to draw the sores level at 1-1.

Both teams were unable to score the goal they desperately sought to put them ahead, and the match ended 1-1 cementing UJ’s position at the top of the standings.

UCT and UWC played to a thrilling 3-3 draw in a hard-fought Cape derby, while Kovsies played in an entertaining match against NWU drawing 1-1.

Next week UP travel to Mafikeng to face the unbeaten NWU in their semi-final, while UJ will host Kovsies in the other play-off match.