Sigh of relief for Ajax after Lebusa dramatic goal

A DRAMATIC finish offered Ajax Cape Town a lifeline in their battle against potential relegation from the Absa Premiership as captain Musa Lebusa scored four minutes into stoppage time to see them beat Baroka FC 1-0 at the Athlomne Stadium last night.

Ajax missed myriad late chances after coming alive in the final 10 minutes of a generally limp affair but a series of horrid misses and some sparkling saves from goalkeeper Ayanda Dlamini kept Ajax a bay.

It was not until there were just 60 seconds left that Sirgio Kammies drove forward to set up a chance with Dlamini making an error as he palmed the cross onto the head of Lebusa and effectively handed Ajax three valuable points.

The Cape Town club are now out of the bottom two although SuperSport United, who are directly below them, play tonight at home to Free State Stars and could yet dump Ajax back down to 15th place if they win.

Ajax were desperate for the victory in their penultimate home game but it looked to be a heartbreaking night for the home side as the goals just did not come.

“I have to say how proud I am of the way we kept fighting,” said coach Muhsin Ertugral afterwards.

Ajax had plenty of first-half possession but for all their passing and prodding, they were not able to conjour up a decent chance in the opening stanza.

Only Yannick Zakri’s looping header tested Dlamini, who dealt with it by tipping it over the top in the 13th minute.

Zakri always looked dangerous but tried to dribble his way through every situation, avoiding any passing as best he could.

● Bloemfontein Celtic and Chippa United played out a tame goalless stalemate in their premiership clash at Dr Molemela Stadium last night.

The result allows both teams to remain in the top half of the log table, with the Chilli Boys in seventh on 35 points from 28 matches, while Phunya Sele Sele are one place lower with the same points tally but an inferior goal difference.

After a cagey opening period, Celtic began to get a grip on the game and began testing Chippa goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi through the likes of Victor Letsoalo, Kabelo Dlamini and Roggert Nyundu.

The latter had a shot from just outside the penalty area palmed away by the Nigerian gloves-man midway through the first half in the hosts’ most notable chance.

Chippa, for their part, offered the occasional threat on the counter, though lone striker Katlego Mashego didn’t quite receive the service he needed to keep Celtic’s Patrick Tignyemb on his toes.

Overall, a lacklustre first half ended goalless with no major chances at either end. The second half continued in a similar style, with neither side really able to take control of the game and assert any pressure.

Chippa occasionally needed the likes of James Okwuosa and Zith Macheke to make a decisive tackle in a dangerous area, but in general the visitors’ defenders were able to handle whatever Phunya Sele Sele could throw at them.

Both teams looked to shuffle their attacking options with late substitutions, including the likes of Linda Mntambo, Edward Manqele and Menzi Masuku, though no player was able to spark any late goalmouth drama.

● At Princess Magogo Stadium, hosts Golden Arrows added more misery to Kaizer Chiefs by beating the visitors 3-1. Lerato Lamola struck twice for the home side with another goal coming from Velemseni Ndwandwe. Bernard Parker scored for Kaizer Chiefs. —