Reigning Varsity Football champions, North-West University (NWU) Eagles, and the University of Free State shared the spoils in a goalless draw in the fourth round of the 2021 Varsity Football tournament.

This game was an action-packed encounter, with both teams producing a slew of chances to break the tie, but none coming to fruition.

“It was a very tactical game from both sides. A close call from the assistant referee for the offside denied us a crucial goal in the dying minutes of the game,” says NWU coach Karabo Masehela.

The draw takes the NWU Eagles to seven points and second place on the Varsity Football round-robin log with two wins, one loss and one draw.

The NWU Eagles repeated their 2019 final success by beating Tshwane University of Technology by 2-0 in round three of the tournament.

Prior to this game, they demolished the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) by 6-0 in the second round. “In this game we had to remind the other institutions that we are here to defend the cup,” coach Masehela says.

In the first round of the Varsity Football tournament, the NWU Eagles were beaten 3-1 by the current log leaders, the University of Johannesburg (UJ).

Coach Masehela says they never saw the UJ defeat coming,  but it was for certain a wake-up call.

The NWU Eagles’ next Varsity Football game will take place on Wednesday, 22 September 2021, when they will be taking on the University of Pretoria.

“Going to our next game, we will have to work more on our movement off the ball,” says coach Masehela.

The NWU Eagles celebrate a goal scored by Israel Matshane.