The University of Witwatersrand (Wits) registered their first win of the 2026 Varsity Football campaign with an emphatic 3-0 victory over the University of Limpopo (UL) on Friday evening.
UL asserted an early dominance in the first half, earning a free kick in the 2nd minute of the encounter. The free kick was then parried away by goalkeeper Raddel Duh, giving UL its first corner kick of the outing.
The dominance of the University of Limpopo saw them awarded another set piece in a form of free kick as they continued to pin their opponents at the back in the early exchanges. as they were able to regain the ball every time Wits ventured forward.
The University of Witwatersrand latched a swift counterattack which resulted in them being awarded a penalty on the 13th minute. Mxolisi Mthiya stepped up to calmly convert the penalty kick to give the home side an advantage in the first half.
The penalty brought Wits back into the game as they started to ask UL a few questions, with UL goalkeeper Mosa Mabitsela providing a heroic double save to keep the deficit at 1-0 in the 22nd minute of the highly contested encounter.
UL come close to opening their account in this year’s campaign after Theto Mohale missed a glorious opportunity on the 32nd minute to bring both sides to level-pegging.
The game went to half time at 1-0, With UL being far the dominant side of the two but they had nothing to show for it.
Wits come out of the second half with more positive approach after the restart and they were rewarded within 3 minutes of the second half when Tebogo Masemola applied a finishing touch to double Wits’ lead.
Chaos erupted on the second half where the encounter became too emotional leading to players fight in the centre circle that saw the referee dish out few yellow cards.
After the match resumed UL got another glorious chance in the 67th minute where Wits goalkeeper Raddel Duh dropped the ball in the 6 yards box and UL could not capitalize.
Wits went on to seal a convincing victory at home on the 87th minute through Tebogo Masemola’s well taken goal to get his brace of the night and blow away UL.
The University of Limpopo have now suffered two defeats in their opening two games of the 2026 Varsity Football after a 2-0 defeat at home last week. meanwhile, Wits have secured their first victory at their home turf since 2018.
Other Varsity Football results:
Durban University of Technology 0-1 University of Johannesburg
University of Pretoria 0-1 University of Western Cape
Tshwane University of Technology 1-0 University of Free State