Ertugral: Ajax were a mess against Umoya
MUHSIN ERTUGRAL didn’t hide his emotions after Ajax Cape Town could only manage a goalless draw with neighbours Cape Umoya United at Cape Town Stadium on Tuesday. His intense frustration reflected his fierce desire to return the Cape side to the top-flight PSL.
Having won their opening NFD fixture – 2-1 away to Jomo Cosmos – Ertugral was keen for his team to continue their winning momentum. But, despite their effort and endeavour, they simply couldn’t break down the resolute Umoya defence, and had to settle for a point.
“It was just a mess,” said a clearly unhappy Ertugral afterwards. “If I look at the work we are doing, and what the outcome is, it’s all different; at training, it’s all good, but during the game, there’s nothing. I’m very disappointed. I wanted to have six points after two games – but, when it comes to games, the players just seem to freeze. It’s difficult to understand why. For me, there were no positives to take from the game.”
As for Umoya, unlike Ertugral, coach Roger de Sa was satisfied with the performance of his team. “It was okay,” said De Sa. “We haven’t played on a pitch like this all season and, with a few more games here (Cape Town Stadium), it can only get better. We had a few chances, they (Ajax) had a few chances, both teams had a go, so in the end I guess it was a fair result.”
Both coaches also focused on the influence veteran Nathan Paulse had on the game. The 36-year-old striker came out of retirement to sign for Umoya this season and has already had a major impact. He netted his side’s goal in a 1-1 draw with TS Galaxy in the opening match of the campaign – and, on Tuesday, he was the only player who troubled Ajax.
“There was only (Nathan) Paulse for them,” said Ajax coach Ertugral. “We played against him and, for the rest, we only played against ourselves.”
With Paulse’s age, De Sa is aware that he has to manage the player carefully.
“Nathan is the type of player teams hate to play against,” said De Sa. “He can be a real handful to deal with. But we now have to be cautious in how we use him, we have to save his legs. He’s still got something left in him, I mean you would never say he is that age.”
Looking forward, the coaches of both teams are aware of the challenges they face.
“It’s not easy in this league,” said Ertugral about his bid to take Ajax back to the PSL. “The players cannot think about having been in the PSL; they need to be professional and they need to work for their money.”
As for De Sa’s Umoya, it’s one step at a time. “It’s a new club, and we are still moulding a team,” he said. “Also, many of the players are new to Cape Town, having come down from up north, and they have to settle in. Hopefully, though, we will be able to do Cape Town proud.”
The NFD action continues on Saturday, with Ajax at home to Stellenbosch FC, and Umoya away at Maccabi FC.