The University of Fort Hare are ecstatic to have reached the the Hollywoodbets Super League final where they will meet defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies and fight for the first-prize purse of R2m.

The Baby Wolves defeated City Lads 2-1 in their last group game at the University of Johannesburg Soweto Campus, booking their place in the final of the top-flight league of women's football.

The Baby Wolves finished their stream with 31 points in 14 matches.

Sundowns had already secured the Super Era Stream before the weekend, despite having two games in hand.

They have 34 points after 12 matches and behind them are the University of Western Cape with 27 points in 14 games.

Fort Hare head coach Simphiwe Mafene expressed pride in his team's remarkable turnaround after what he described as a lukewarm start to the campaign.

The Eastern Cape university also faced the setback of having points deducted after failing to honour some fixtures because of logistical challenges, which the university subsequently accepted responsibility for.

Travel arrangements proved particularly demanding for the team, who had to rely on bus transport for away fixtures, regardless of the distance involved.

Their final two matches were played in Gauteng and Mpumalanga within the space of seven days, making their achievement even more impressive.

"The ladies really worked hard. Remember we are coming far from the Eastern Cape and we came to Soweto by bus, even in the past game [against TUT at Kaboweni] it was the same, but we got consecutive wins," Mafene said after the City Lads game.

"It has not been easy, we have had to keep motivating our players and making sure that we maintain maximum results."

Mafene acknowledged that facing Sundowns in the final would be a significant challenge.

The former African champions have dominated domestic women's football in recent years, winning a record-extending six consecutive league titles.

The recent head-to-head record also favours the Pretoria outfit, who have won all four of their previous encounters against the Baby Wolves.

However, Mafene insisted his side would not approach the final as mere participants and was determined to give the defending champions a competitive challenge.

"We know Sundowns are a big team. We want to make sure that they get good competition.

"We are not going to make it easy for them. We also have our own mandate to achieve," he said.

Meanwhile, the defeat had serious consequences for Gqeberha-based team City Lads, who were relegated from the Super League.

Their departure means the Eastern Cape will lose another representative from the country's top-flight women's football competition.

In other developments, Sinenkani Ladies have secured their place in the national playoffs and will be hoping to take advantage of the vacant position left by City Lads as they pursue promotion to the top flight.