UWC coach slams decision to proceed with match after medics did not arrive on time

The University of the Western Cape coach Thinasonke Mbuli says she is unhappy that their Hollywoodbets Super League match still went ahead despite Mamelodi Sundowns breaking the rules by not organising medics on time for the clash.

There was a 33-minute delay in the Saturday afternoon clash at the Lucas Moripe Stadium due to the unavailability of medics, with the match commissioner stating that it is the home team’s responsibility to organise the medics and also shared that the South African Football Association will investigate.

Speaking to SABC Sport, Mbuli expressed her disappointment.

“This was because there were no medics, and we know the match can’t kickoff without the medics. We were not supposed to even do warm ups. This happened last year at home and the match was canceled,” Mbuli said.

“I was not happy with what happened, imagine if we were playing a different team - the match could have been canceled. So, it means yesterday was a special case.”

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Mbuli was also not happy after launching their 2025 Hollywoodbets Super League campaign with a defeat.

UWC went 1-0 down against the defending champions at the Lucas Moripe on Saturday afternoon.

She says that conceding early in the game left her side chasing throughout the match and believes it is something that needs to change going forward.

“It was on the 10th minute and we were still trying to find our feet and conceded exactly like how we planned. We know that when you play against Sundowns you have to minimise the mistakes, otherwise you stay chasing. We knew exactly how they would score and they did just that and that is why I am disappointed. It was clearly stated in our analysis,’’ said Mbuli.

The coastal side is expected to face the University of Fort Hare next Saturday at the Davidson Stadium.

With the league still suffering a slow start, Mbuli says it is a challenge to prepare for a match that might not even take place.

“We obviously need to do some match analysis on Fort Hare. But, our administrators stated that if we don’t receive the grant we will not be able to travel, which makes it a bit of a challenge,’’ she expressed.