The prospect of facing Mamelodi Sundowns may intimidate most teams but Fort Hare are ready to challenge the perennial Hollywoodbets Super League champions on home turf this weekend.
The Baby Wolves took great heart from their 0-1 defeat against the Brazilians in Pretoria last month, proving they had the steel to go toe-to-toe with the best women’s football teams in the land.
Their compact defence was excellent against a team renowned for playing effective through-balls to their forwards and, in many respects, they were unfortunate not to come away with a point for the draw.
Fort Hare currently lie 11th on the log and a win against the mighty ‘Downs in Alice on Saturday can potentially put them back in the top 10 midway through their debut season.
This, impressively, puts them miles clear of the relegation zone, which was their stated objective at the start of their historic campaign.
One of the players driving the team’s goal of staying in the elite competition is left-back Yonela Keto.
The 26-year-old was brought into the fold this year to give Fort Hare a defender who knew how to handle Super League strikers.
Keto spent the best part of a decade at Butterworth’s Thunderbirds, who also play at the top level of South African football, before making the move to Alice.

Fort Hare defender Yonela Keto has given her new team plenty of drive at left-back this season. Photo: Full Stop Communications
While adjusting to new teammates and Fort Hare’s brand of soccer took some time, she is now very much part of the side’s leadership group.
Her own game has improved, too.
“I usually played very defensive football but this year I am going forward a lot more. I’m doing a lot more overlapping and have more freedom to attack.”
Keto started playing the sport as a 10-year-old in her hometown of Libode, where a local coach spotted her talent.
Her love for the game grew out of his belief in her, she said.
After high school, she was snatched up by Thunderbirds where she played a pivotal role in their promotion from the second-tier Sasol League.
Swapping one Eastern Cape team for another, especially having spent her entire professional career at the former, could have been challenging, but Keto said UFH’s players had been very welcoming.
She admitted to being “surprised” by Fort Hare’s healthy start to their first season but was obviously pleased that it was going well.
Coming into Saturday’s fixture at Davidson Stadium, Sundowns have lost only one of their 18 matches, putting them six points clear of second-placed UWC.
Keto knew UFH would have to play out of their socks to pull off a win, but believed it was possible since Sundowns were no longer an unknown entity.
“They are good at keeping the ball, always moving and attacking. You need to be fit to keep up with their pace,” she said.
“We now know what to expect from them and are ready for the weekend.”
The match kicks off at 3pm.