UJ ladies come from a tough 2-1 defeat to the University of the Western Cape, wrapping up the 50th match in the first quarter of the Hollywoodbets Super League.

The Johannesburg side is currently in third place on the log with 13 points, just 2 points behind the University of Pretoria.

Mbatha says their recent defeat to UWC gave them the courage to make sure that they don’t lose points when they lock horns with Durban ladies on Saturday.

"Very exciting game ahead of us against Durban Ladies this coming weekend, we are focused. We want to make sure that we win the game, there's no way we can give away any points to Durban Ladies. We are not gonna underestimate them, Durban Ladies can hurt you on their good day so we just gonna go all out in that game and make sure that we bring home three points and the girls are ready. Yesterday's game didn't demoralise us, instead, it gave us the courage to stand up again and fight," Mbatha said.

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The 48-year-old mentor rejoined UJ ladies for the 2024 season, having spent the rest of the previous season as Royal AM’s head coach.

She says settling back in the UJ Ladies technical team has been seamless, because of the past experience with the team.

"I'm settling in very, very well here at UJ and I love it here. It's not my first time working for UJ, I've worked here from 2021 up until 2022. So, it's easy for me to settle down because I understand the culture and the expectations from the management I know quite a few players here. So,I'm looking forward to a very, very good and exciting season ahead," Mbatha added.

She further shared that UJ Ladies are intentional about contending for the league title and are willing to turn things around this season, having missed out on the top 8 spot in 2023 - finishing 9th with 43 points.

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