Urban Warriors are wary of the ‘bumpy’ Coetzenburg pitch

AJAX Cape Town have had no choice but to take this week’s MTN8 Cup semi-final, first leg tie against Wits to Coetzenburg Stadium in Stellenbosch.

The game is scheduled for Saturday night (kick-off 8.15pm), with the other semifinal between Bloemfontein Celtic and Kaizer Chiefs taking place on Sunday.

It’s certainly not ideal for Ajax, as both the Athlone and Cape Town grounds are unavailable, and the Capetonians are of the opinion the change in venue could well favour the Students.

It will be the second time in the space of a week that the Cape side takes on Wits after the Joburg team emerged victorious 2-1 in the season-opening Premier Soccer League (PSL) fixture at the weekend.

“I’m sure Gavin (Hunt, Wits coach) would have been very worried about bringing his team to play us at Cape Town Stadium this week, especially after we dominated the league game in the second half on Saturday,” said Ajax assistantcoach Ian Taylor.

“I think Coetzenburg will suit Wits, it definitely doesn’t favour us in any way. It’s a small, bumpy ground and, with Wits being a physical side that loves to play off the second ball, they can use long throws to their advantage.”

Taylor, though, remained heartened by the manner in which Ajax had gone about their business against Wits, despite the opening league defeat. “It was a very encouraging display,” said Taylor. “With Granwald Scott and Mosa Lebusa injured, we changed things around a bit. We played with five at the back, bringing in Aiden Jenniker alongside Rivaldo Coetzee and Abbubaker Mobara in a threeman central defence.

“Both the goals we conceded, though, were lapses in concentration and it’s something we will need to work on. PSL Today: Maritzburg Utd v Jomo Cosmos Tomorrow: SuperSport United v Orlando Pirates MTN8 semi-finals, first leg Saturday: Ajax Cape Town v Wits (Coetzenburg Stadium, 8.15pm) Sunday: Bloemfontein Celtic v Kaizer Chiefs Their winning goal, especially, was disappointing. We had told the players not to allow Wits winger Elias Pelembe too much space and time outside the penalty area… they did, and he punished us.

“Our goal was scored by Mobara and we had a few scoring chances after that, especially in the second half when we were by far the better team. But Moeneeb (Josephs, Wits goalkeeper) pulled off some good saves.”

Taylor added that there had been a few promising performances from midfield.

“Diva (new signing Ndiviwe Mdabuka) was again outstanding in the centre of the park,” said the Ajax assistant-coach. “Toriq Losper was good and Bantu Mzwakali caused problems for the Wits defence all night.

“It was a game we certainly didn’t deserve to lose. It was, for me, our best second half performance on the road. We are playing some good football.”

Taylor said, though, that Ajax had a mini-injury crisis to deal with before deciding on how to approach the Cup tie against Wits. Milton Ncube limped off on Saturday, Travis Graham is still not 90-minutes ready, Scott and Lebusa needed to be assessed, while Nathan Paulse, Tashreeq Morris and Brandon Petersen are still longterm casualties.

So, with the Cape club’s medical department having to work overtime this week, and a compact Coetzenburg that negates their flowing passing style, it’s not shaping up as a positive omen for Ajax.

But this is an opportunity for Taylor, head coach Roger de Sa and their players to focus on qualifying for another Cup final. In May this year, they lost out on penalties to Mamelodi Sundowns in the climax of the Nedbank Cup, now they have a chance to go all the way in the MTN8.

With this as motivation, surely it should be enough to banish any negative thoughts around Coetzenburg.