Ajax earn their first 2017 win

A moment of magic from Mark Mayambela earned Ajax Cape Town their first win of 2017 as they defeated bottom side Highlands Park 1-0 in a relegation six-pointer at the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday.

The victory moves Ajax four points clear of Baroka FC in the relegation play-off position and ends a run of eight matches without a victory, although there was certainly plenty of nervousness to their play as they rode their luck at times.

Highlands remain rooted to the foot of the table, but had their chances to get at least a point from the game in what was a disappointing night for former Urban Warriors coach Gordon Igesund.

The home side started the brighter and were rewarded for their enterprise on nine minutes, when Mayambela gave them the lead with a well-taken goal.

He played a one-two with Nxumalo and raced into the penalty-area, finding himself one-on-one with Highlands goalkeeper Tapuwa Kapini. Instead of blasting the ball, the winger produced a deft chip, showing excellent composure and plenty of confidence.

Next up for Ajax is an away trip on Saturday to Lamontville Golden Arrows, while Highlands host a rejuvenated Orlando Pirates on the same day.

In Bloemfontein, George Maluleka and Gustavo Paez scored on either side of halftime to hand Kaizer Chiefs an important win over Bloemfontein Celtic and lifted them to second place in the Premier Soccer League standings.

The result kept up Chiefs’ long-standing dominance over the Free State club, who have now not beaten AmaKhosi in their past 18 head-to-head encounters and have gone 18 hours now against Chiefs without scoring.

But Celtic will be more concerned that they are just two points above the relegation zone as they lost for the first time since new coach Luc Eyamel joined the club.