Another year of toil for Ajax

Black Leopards’ joy at retaining their Absa Premiership status was mirrored by sadness at Ajax Cape Town this weekend, as their long bid for a return to top flight action finally ended.

For most of this season, it looked like the Urban Warriors would be back in the big time, as they led the way in the GladAfrica Championship right up until the season was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The bio-bubble, however, turned into a nightmare for the Cape side as Swallows FC beat them to automatic promotion, and then a 2-0 play-off loss to Black Leopards at Rand Stadium on Friday confirmed that they would be back in the Championship next season.

That result rendered Leopards’ game against TTM yesterday at FNB Stadium irrelevant, with Lidoda Duvha retaining their place in the Absa Premiership, and confirming Swallows as the only new team in next season’s top flight.

Khomotso Masia and Zambian

Mwape Musonda got the goals for Leopards against Ajax, with Musonda really coming to the party in the play-offs, netting four times in three matches.

Ajax were hopeful after hammering TTM 5-1 earlier in the week, but in the end the class of the top flight side told.

“It was a bad day, compared to what we saw in 15-20 minutes against TTM in the second half (Ajax were a goal down at half time in that 5-1 win), but that has been part of our trips here (in the bubble),” said Ajax coach Calvin Marlin after the Leopards game.

“At the start of the game we were poor on and off the ball, they had a bit more quality in their side and a bit more hunger and that was the difference. We started poorly a lot in the bubble. In the first 25-30 minutes we would concede, but you can’t keep coming back from 1-0 down. It happened three or four times, we went a goal down and we couldn’t come back.”

Marlin added that he didn’t know if he would be in charge of Ajax next season.