Road to the Varsity Football final: NWU vs UWC

This Thursday, 26 September, the Varsity Football 2024 tournament will see NWU and UWC battle for glory and we find out who will be crowned champions and lift the trophy for a second time. Form wise they have both won their last two games, but the Eagles have only lost once this season and that was in the opening round to UFS. They avenged that loss by beating UFS 4-0 in the semi-finals. UWC come into the final as the only team to have beaten Tuks and it was away in both fixtures. NWU will host the final and no doubt have the home ground advantage with a packed out crowd expected at Mahikeng Stadium.

Head-to-head stats:

Not much seperating the two diski powerhouses with UWC scoring only one goal more, but the Eagles are a defensive wall conceding the least goals in the tournament and keeping the most clean sheets. On attack both will be looking to their charismatic top scorers Reatlegile Kgosithebe and Leandro De Sousa who are tied on 5 goals each, leading the way in the Suzuki Golden Boot race. They have each won the tournament once so expect a heated final where they will be on the hunt to duplicate the success they had in 2015 and 2019.

Previous match-up: (round 2 on 1 Aug)

In their round robin fixture it was NWU who travelled to Cape Town and picked up a crucial 0-1 win at the Operation Room.

Despite both sides pushing hard in the opening half, the teams were deadlocked on 0-0 as the players headed into the lockerroom at the halftime break. 

It was all NWU in the second half with the visitors playing with a lot more confidence and bravado while in contrasting style UWC held back and played a very defensive type of football. It was this fearless style of the NWU side that resulted in them being the first to get onto the scoreboard. The deadlock was finally broken in the 62nd minute when NWU scored through a well-worked effort in the midfield catching the UWC defence off guard. Momelezi Mngati fired the ball into the top right corner.

It was a spirited effort from the home side in the final 15 minutes of the match, but it was all in vain as they remained goalless

Coach and captains thoughts:

NWU head coach Nkululeko Khwezilomso Malgas - “In football, pressure is just part of it. The fans have been incredibly supportive, from our opening match when we lost to UFS. It’s been a journey, and we’ve felt their presence every step of the way."

"It’s their opportunity to do something special in front of their home supporters. This is what we have been building towards, and now it’s time to deliver.”

UWC captain Damian Overmeyer - “This is the time to show what we are made of. This season we have been inconsistent, but our mental strength has been strong. The work rate of the guys has been superb. You’ve seen in the semi finals match where we got a red card, we fought until the end. That is how strong the boys are mentally.”

“It is exciting to be in the finals with such an exciting side NWU in their backyard. As players we will have to remember where we come from to achieve this. We have been to Mahikeng. We know the conditions. We know the environment and know the supporters would be fully behind them. But we will have to fight,”

Don't miss the final live on SuperSport at 7pm.

Tickets HERE.