U23s back, but Aces will test Ajax CT
AJAX CAPE TOWN’S SA U23 quartet arrived back from Senegal on Monday night, reported for training yesterday morning, and will be available for selection for Saturday night’s PSL fixture against Mpumalanga Black Aces in Mbombela (kick-off 8.15pm).
Goalkeeper Jody February, defenders Rivaldo Coetzee and Abbubaker Mobara and midfielder Riyaad Norodien were members of the U23 squad that qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics at the CAF Eight Nations tournament recently completed in Senegal. They were given a medical check, only allowed to do some light training, and then quickly sent home to rest and recuperate.
With results not going too well for Ajax of late, coach Roger de Sa is well aware that he needs his best men available for a crunch fixture against third-placed Aces.
“The U23 players who returned from Senegal are mentally and physically tired,” said De Sa, pictured. “In addition to the football and the pressure, they’ve also done a lot of travelling, so it was important to let them rest. It was rewarding to see how well they did and qualifying for the Olympics has them on a high… we are hoping that good feeling can rub off on us as we prepare for Aces.
“The youngsters have come a long way in a short period of time. Remember that they were junior players just the other day. Now they’ve gone from a Nedbank Cup final, winning the MTN8 competition, to qualifying for the Olympics. That’s a lot to take in and they’ve done so very quickly.
“But when they arrived in the dressingroom and everybody was singing and congratulating the players, I knew it would be okay.”
De Sa said the break for the U23 tournament was very good. “It allowed us to get a few players recovered from injury and for us to work on as much as we can,” he said. “We’ve played a few friendlies and worked a lot on individual stuff. We’ll see how we go against Aces, but it won’t be easy…
“I’ve watched Aces quite a bit and they’ve been very impressive. Muhsin (Ertugral, Aces coach) has done a great job. He’s got the team organised and structured, but, more importantly, he has got Collins Mbesuma and Lebogang Manyama back in form. Aces look like a top-four team…”
As far as squad news is concerned, central midfielder Granwald Scott is suspended after picking up four yellow cards, while De Sa is still waiting on a work permit for the club’s new signing, Ghanaian defender Lawrence Lartey.
De Sa said he was hoping to have Lartey’s availability confirmed by January 15 next year because that was the cut-off date for the registration of players for African inter-club competition. Ajax will be participating in the CAF Confederations Cup – the opening game is against Angolan side GD Sagrada Esperança in February.