The in-form University of Johannesburg (UJ) team aim to make it a fourth win in a row against the ailing, devastated North-West University (NWU) football team.
The UJ team has had a good run of form of late, targeting to continue their ruthless, insouciant performances. Fearless UJ are aware of the threat the visitors impose but they head into Thursday’s match as favourites after scoring seven goals in two matches. The table is still open with six teams having the chance to qualify for the knockout stages. Every game matters at this point in the season and dropping points will most definitely hinder progression of any of the six teams, with a small margin for error in the late stages of Varsity Football.
Looking at both teams’ recent performances, both hosted matches in the previous rounds, but they had contrasting results. UJ host again, after a morale-boosting win, with the team spirit and confidence high while NWU-Mafikeng travel away off the back of a loss, after allowing Central University of Technology (CUT) to pull an ‘Italian Job’ on them.
Watch UJ defeat UFH:
It appears as though UJ’s game is in sync with their ambition to reach the knockout stages. UJ head coach, Mandla Zwane, believes his boys are motivated and driven by two things: “the continued threat of the main rivals and the need to reinvent the team to counter predictability in the team’s game play.”
He added that, “It hasn’t been easy being runners up twice in the Varsity football tournament but the team needs to take it a game at a time, execute and come out victorious.”
It will be a tricky fixture come Thursday, 31 August. Both teams need maximum points to have a chance of reaching the knockout stages. An open game is expected knowing what’s at stake. Can UJ make it three wins in a row or will NWU-Mafikeng cause an upset and increase their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals?
The match takes place at Auckland Park, Bunting Road campus, AW Muller Sports complex at 18:15. Tickets are available on the Varsity Sport app.
By Jabu Mthombeni
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