Ajax will have to ensure they focus on AmaZulu despite Ndoro hearing
IT’S A big day for Ajax Cape Town, both on and off the field. The Cape side swings back into action tonight, after a hiatus of nearly a month, when they are in Durban to tackle AmaZulu at the King Zwelithini Stadium (7.30pm kickoff). But, in addition to that, Ajax’s Zimbabwean striker Tendai Ndoro has a date at the Johannesburg High Court today in which he is appealing a ruling that prevents him from playing.
It’s a controversy that has dogged Ajax since the arrival of the 32-year-old striker in January. Ndoro has played for three clubs this season – Orlando Pirates, Al-Faisaly in Saudi Arabia and Ajax – which is in contravention of Fifa rules. However, while the PSL’s Dispute Resolution Chamber cleared him to play, the league itself appealed the decision. Last week, in a hearing chaired by arbitrator Nassir Cassim, the matter was referred to Fifa, and Ndoro barred from playing for Ajax until a final decision is made by football’s world governing body.
Ndoro has since taken the case to the High Court; he will explain how he was never paid a salary in Saudi Arabia, and that his right to work is now under threat and his dignity as a human being at stake; he is a professional footballer, how else is he supposed to make a living? At the same time, the uncertainty of his situation is having an emotional and psychological effect on his well-being – this is the crux of his argument when the case is heard.
While all of this is happening off the field, the rest of the Ajax squad will have to ensure they focus on the task at hand – on the field, against AmaZulu. The Cape club are second-from-bottom on the PSL standings and they certainly need something positive from tonight’s encounter.
Meanwhile, in the other half of the Mother City, Cape Town City are preparing to bounce back after a 2-1 defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals. It was again an occasion in which City failed to make the most of their opportunities and, while they hogged possession, individual errors resulted in them being regularly caught out on the counter.
City are in league action tomorrow when they host Golden Arrows at Cape Town Stadium (7.30pm kickoff) – and, having crashed out of the Cup, coach Benni McCarthy is focused on getting his team to finish as high as they can on the PSL standings.
“Hopefully we’ll learn from this (defeat to Sundowns) and come back stronger next season,” said McCarthy. “Football is a funny old game. You dominate and create chances, but you don’t put the game to bed ... footballers never learn. Good teams, like Sundowns, you don’t let off the ropes – unfortunately, we did and we paid the price; they’re a very good team.
“Now we will have to forget about the Cup and focus on the league. It’s a pity because we played well. It was just that we made some crucial individual errors. I thought some of the players were trying to be too fancy when we should have played it simple.”