Urban Warriors seeking a spark
WE’LL TRY AND DISRUPT CHIEFS’ WAY OF PLAYING Ajax coach sure his team can turn their season around.
Following a run of bad results in their last five matches, Ajax Cape Town coach Stanley Menzo believes playing Kaizer Chiefs at Athlone Stadium tonight could be the event the Urban Warriors have been looking for to turn things around.
Kick-off for the match is set for 8.15pm.
The Urban Warriors endured a terrible run of four consecutive defeats before curbing their freefall with a 1-1 draw against Polokwane City last weekend.
Menzo said he believes that playing an attacking team gives them a fighting chance. “I don’t know why, but I’d rather play a team like Kaizer Chiefs than a Polokwane City for example, or teams that wait for the counter-attack,” said Menzo.
“Chiefs are a team that like to play, like to have the ball. As a result, there will be space for us to play. We are also a team that like to play, like to have the ball, so it will be more a football game than a tactical game in terms of waiting for a mistake and then going on the counter-attack.”
It is however worth mentioning that Ajax failed dismally against an attacking Bidvest Wits who handed them a 5-0 drubbing three weeks ago. Menzo said they will stick to their own playing style.
“It will be a very interesting game playing against a good team with good players, who are on a good run. Let’s see if we are able to disrupt their way of playing and if we are able to play our own game, and I think if we play our own game we will have more possibilities.”
Five consecutive wins have seen Amakhosi climb to the second spot in the Absa Premiership, and put their name among those who want the title this season.
The Glamour Boys’ Ramahlwe Mphahlele, who has been among the star performers in Steve Komphela’s team, believes they are reaping the fruits of their toil.
The 26-year-old rightback was named the Man-of-the-Match last weekend as Amakhosi laboured to a 1-0 win over Gordon Igesund’s Highlands Park.
“We’ve been working hard as the team and we just want to continue working hard. We had to be really disciplined against Highlands Park and we managed to get the points. We just want to take each game as it comes, try to do well and try to perform to get the results.
“It’s not going to be easy and we know what to do to grind out results. We want to fight together as a team,” said Mphahlele.