Evans to face Wits?,
RHEECE EVANS can’t wait to ignite his Ajax Cape Town career. The 26-year-old defender arrived in the Mother City last month on loan from Mamelodi Sundowns, and he’s keen on making an impact.
Predominantly a right back, though he’s capable of playing in the centre of defence or as a holding midfielder, it will be interesting to see how Evans,
pictured, fits into Ajax coach Stanley Menzo’s plans. Towards the end of last year, Menzo was using midfielder Erwin Isaacs at right back.
Ajax get the second half of the PSL season under way with a tough fixture against second-placed Wits in Johannesburg tomorrow night (7.30pm kickoff) – and there’s a good chance that Evans could be thrown straight into action. He’s certainly good enough. Isaacs has done a good job since shifting to the side of the defence – but, against a team with the aerial power and physical attacking threat of Wits, the robust, combative Evans may be a better bet for Menzo.
With Ajax now in a comfortable ninth position on the PSL standings, they are determined to maintain their momentum. They won five of their last six games last year and would certainly love to get off to a positive start when the campaign resumes tomorrow. The squad has been strengthened by the addition of top Zambian duo Rodrick Kabwe and Aubrey Funga, former Cape youth product Sameehg Doutie and Evans.
Originally from Durban, Evans is happy that he has finally made the trek to the Mother City. It’s not his first time in the Cape, though. After playing for Stella in Durban, he came down to Cape Town to study and eventually ended up playing for Santos’ Under19 team.
Nothing came of his sojourn at Santos and he returned to Durban, where he played for amateur side Villa Park – and it was here that he was spotted by Maritzburg United. He sprang to prominence with the KwaZulu-Natal club, leading eventually to a transfer to Sundowns.
But, as so many players have discovered, moving to Mamelodi is not all it’s cracked out to be. Because the club has so many good players, it’s not always easy to break into the starting team. Evans was to find this out quickly as he struggled for game time in Pretoria.
“It was frustrating not playing,” said Evans. “I was prepared to fight for my position, but it just wasn’t happening. I approached the club and asked to go out on loan, so I could get some game time. At the time, last year, I was poised to go on loan to Ajax, but Sundowns then registered me for their Caf participation in the Champions League. I played in the two legs against Enyimba and was on the bench for some of the other games, and I can tell you the experience was amazing.
“It was great to see other countries, the conditions, the cultures and the facilities. And for Sundowns to win the Champions League on top of that was a bonus… While what happened the last time I was supposed to move to Ajax was out of my control, in the end I guess things worked out. I got the Caf experience under my belt and I was part of the squad that won the Champions League.
“When the opportunity to go to Ajax arrived again this season, I jumped at it. I’ve always wanted to play for this club and I’m looking forward to it.”
Evans definitely has a clear objective in mind as he contemplates the next 18 months in the Mother City.
“I want to start as many games as possible,” he said. “I want to be the player that people talk about. I want to be a threat both in defence and attack. If I’m at right back, I want that side of the team to be solid, I want the winger to move to the other side because he fears my presence.”
As for Wits tomorrow, both Evans and Ajax are fully aware of the challenge that awaits.
“It’ll be tough, Wits are a very good team,” said Evans. “So we’ll have to fight, we’ll have to take the game to them. Ajax are a talented squad and this is a game we need to win. As a team, we have to use heart and charisma, we have to work as hard as we do during training. We have to listen to the coach’s strategy and make sure that we apply it during the game.”