The match was played at the Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Friday night. The 20-year-old scored his first goal in the 13th minute thanks to a pass from Tlakusani Mthethwa. Plaatjies curled the ball past Kagiso Mlambo to give Stellenbosch a 1-0 lead.

Quwan Plaatjies scores hat-trick on Betway Premiership debut in Stellenbosch win over Marumo Gallants

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— Pan-Africa Football (@PanAfricaFooty) August 14, 2026

Stellies continued to ask questions of Gallants and managed to double their tally in the 28th minute. Raoul Daniels delivered an excellent cross, and Plaatjies rose to head home his second goal of the night, completing a brace and sending Stellenbosch into the interval with a comfortable 2-0 lead.

Plaatjies scored his third goal nine minutes into the second half with Daniels setting up Plaatjies again. Gallants managed a consolation goal in the 82nd minute, thanks to Thapelo Dhludhlu, but it was much too little, too late.

Stellenbosch FC vs Marumo Gallants. Photo: /Stellenbosch FC

This was Stellies’ first win of the season, and they are now in third place in the league standings. They will travel to Durban to face Golden Arrows on 26 August. After two outings, Gallants have yet to win a match and have dropped to the bottom of the table. But things will get harder before it get easier as they will have to face Mamelodi Sundowns away on Wednesday.

Matches taking place on Saturday:

AmaZulu FC vs Siwelele FC (15:00)

Kaizer Chiefs vs Mamelodi Sundowns (15:00)

Sekhukhune United vs Polokwane City (17:30)

Durban City vs Richards Bay (20:00)

Milford FS vs Kruger United (20:00)

Matches taking place on Sunday:

Chippa United vs Orlando Pirates (15:00)

TS Galaxy vs Golden Arrows (17:30)

OFM Sport/Ilse Smalberger dg