Ajax desperate for points as relegation dogfight beckons
CAPE TOWN CITY have eight games in which to make history. That’s the amount of games left in the season and, needless to say, they’ll have to treat each and every one like a cup final. There is no room for error.
City are on 42 points, followed by Wits (41), Kaizer Chiefs (39), SuperSport United (37) and Mamelodi Sundowns (35). Log leaders City are preparing for a tough PSL encounter against Platinum Stars in Moruleng on Thursday night (6pm), and no doubt, there will be a hit of revenge in the air. The last time City played Platinum it was the game after they had won the Telkom Knockout Cup. Still hungover
Orlando Pirates v Maritzburg Utd; Wits v Golden Arrows; Baroka FC v Free State Stars; Chippa United v Polokwane City Wednesday: Ajax Cape Town v Highlands Park (Cape Town Stadium, 7.30pm); Bloemfontein Celtic v Kaizer Chiefs Thursday: Mamelodi Sundowns v SuperSport United; Platinum Stars v Cape Town City (Moruleng Stadium, 6pm) Friday: Maritzburg Utd v Baroka FC from the success, they came unstuck and lost 4-0 to the Rustenburg-based team at the Cape Town Stadium in December. Now, with the Capetonians most definitely in the race for the title, they will be keen to do the same to Platinum on Thursday.
The Rustenburg team was in the Ivory Coast yesterday for the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup match against Association Sportive de Tanda. The travel could play a role in how Platinum perform against City, but coach Eric Tinkler is certain to pay no heed to any such complacency. He’ll have the Cape side motivated and prepared for a fixture they can ill-afford to lose.
Meanwhile, Gordon Igesund has coached so many clubs in the PSL it’s inevitable that, most weeks, he invariably comes up against a former team. This week is no different, though it’ll certainly be a nostalgic return to the Mother City when the much-travelled, highly-successful 60-year-old coach brings his Highlands Park side to take on Ajax Cape Town at the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday (kickoff 7.30pm).
Igesund had an enjoyable spell at Ajax (from 2002-2006) and steered them to a runners-up position during one of those seasons. But, in football, things are never static. The sport moves on and so do players and coaches. Igesund is now in charge of Highlands, and he has been tasked with ensuring the rookie club’s survival during its first PSL campaign.
The mid-to-lower positions on the PSL standings are quite tight at this stage. Maritzburg United occupy eighth spot with 26 points, while fourth-from-bottom Ajax have 22 and second-from-bottom Highlands have 20. All it needs is for a club to string together two or three wins and they charge up the league table.
Both Ajax and Highlands are fully aware of this, hence the importance of the three points on offer when the two clubs meet. Both come off defeats last week – Ajax away to Maritzburg and Highlands away to Golden Arrows. As such, both teams will be more than keen to make amends.
Igesund is keeping a close eye on the standings – and he is adamant he’s not contemplating a relegation fight for his team. He has, in fact, set his sights on a place in the top eight.
“I’m not even thinking about relegation,” said Igesund after last week’s loss to Arrows. “My aim is to get into the top eight places. I certainly believe my team is capable. The gap between the teams is not that big, so I’m trying to get my players to start believing they can finish in the top eight. From position nine downwards all the clubs are thinking about getting to 30 points as quickly as they can. We are no different…”
Thirty points is usually the mark set by PSL coaches as the total that wards off relegation. For both Ajax and Highlands, the target is still far off – and both will be desperate to get the victory on Wednesday. HE may have been a journeyman, but with this brace here yesterday, Venezuelan Gustavo Paez went a long way to silence the detractors who were of the view Amakhosi had signed a dud.
With yet another embarrassing defeat to a lower division outfit looming large for Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup, Paez came off the bench save the day.
Two goals within seven minutes against a ten-man Acornbush side that was fast beginning to dream they could knock Chiefs out of the competition made Paez the hero.
First he capitalised on a defensive blunder by the Acornbush centrebacks who collided as they attempted to clear the ball. and then, when William Thwala forced his way from the left and delivered the ball into the box. Paez hit it first time to send his side’s march to the quarterfinals.
Yet for a long time it had looked as though the third-tier outfit would pull off a remarkable victory that would set them up nicely for the upcoming playoffs for promotion into the National First Division (NFD).
Having managed to take the lead just before half time, Acornbush held their own against a rampant Chiefs.
When referee Chris Harrison sent off Sandy Nyathi for a dangerous tackle, it appeared the hosts were in trouble.
Instead it was they who scored first courtesy of their long-ball approach.
A ball sent long to the left found Mduduzi Nkosi and he delivered an immediate cross, and Rhulani Sidumo rushed in from the right and headed it powerfully past Itumeleng Khune at the near post.
Chiefs pressed the homeside into their own half and while they seemed to be doing well to keep Amakhosi a bay, it was only a matter of time before they cracked.
It was largely thanks to keeper Sibusiso Masuku that Acornbush held on for as long as they did – the man-of-the-match winner denying Chiefs on numerous occasions.
But there was very little he could do to stop Paez from endearing himself to the Amakhosi faithful.