Ajax ‘can go all the way’
FORMER Bafana Bafana marksman Shaun Bartlett feels Ajax Cape Town have a realistic shot at lifting the Nedbank Cup trophy this weekend.
Ajax take on Mamelodi Sundowns at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday afternoon, looking to cap what has been a highly satisfactory season all round by winning their first silverware in seven years.
Behind only Benni McCarthy on the list of South Africa’s all-time goal-scorers, Bartlett is the head coach at Golden Arrows, who he recently led to the National First Division title and promotion to the PSL.
He is also a football analyst on television.
Possible home-town bias taken into account, the Cape Town-born Bartlett believes that Ajax are good enough to upset big-spending Sundowns on Saturday.
He is also highly impressed with what Urban Warriors coach Roger de Sa has achieved this season.
“I think that Ajax are in with a very good chance to beat Sundowns. It’s been a revelation what the club has done this season with a squad of such young players,” said the former Cape Town Spurs, FC Zürich and Charlton Athletic striker.
“They have shown that they are ready to achieve things, and it shows what vision Roger has for the future. The club can now build on what they have done this season.”
Bartlett, who also spent two seasons at Kaizer Chiefs after a successful six-year stint in England, feels that the allimportant momentum leading up to any final is with Ajax.
Strengths
“Of course it’s going to be a very tough game, Sundowns are one of the top teams in this country. But I’m confident Roger will have a good game plan for Saturday, and that he will use his team’s strengths to expose Sundowns,” he said.
“There will be more pressure on Sundowns – they have already missed out on several opportunities to win trophies this season, and will be looking to try and rescue their season in the Nedbank Cup.
“On the other hand, no one expected Ajax to reach this final, so they don’t have too much pressure. If you look at the past two months, Sundowns’ form seems to have tapered off slightly, while Ajax have been more positive. They have been performing well, getting good results.
“The team has shown a lot of passion and energy. You could see, for example, in the semi-final against SuperSport the fighting spirit this team has, when they came from behind with two late goals – that showed a lot of character.
“It will be great for Cape football to have a team winning a major trophy, so I really hope they can go out and do it on Saturday,” he said.
Apart from winning the Premiership title last season, the Brazilians, like Ajax, have not enjoyed much in the way of cup success in recent years.
The last time they won a major cup competition was in 2008, when they beat Mpumalanga Black Aces 1-0 in the Nedbank Cup final.
The previous Nedbank Cup final, in 2007, saw Ajax beat Sundowns 2-0.
The Urban Warriors went on to lift the Telkom Knockout trophy in 2008, but then lost in the finals of the Telkom Knockout and the MTN8, and the next Telkom Knockout a year later.