AmaZulu outplayed by Ajax

AmaZulu (1) 1Ajax Cape Town (1) 2
Jan 8, 2011 8:40 PM | By MARC STRYDOM

AmaZulu came into the game in much improved form, but Ajax Cape Town overcame plucky but outclassed opposition and searing heat with their sophisticated brand of football to leave themselves very much in the race for the league title.

Kaizer Chiefs' 1-0 victory over Mamelodi Sundowns has done all the championship chasers a favour and third-placed Ajax are now just three points off the pace.

"Our next game is against Chiefs and it's a big one," Ajax coach Foppe de Haan said afterwards. "If we want to make a serious challenge for the league then we have to win games."

The Dutchman said a heat wave in Cape Town this week had forced him to train sparingly to conserve his players' energy. It was a move that paid dividends as Ajax not just outplayed AmaZulu, but also out-ran them on a particularly humid and uncomfortable northern KwaZulu-Natal afternoon.

The defeat brought an end to Usuthu's mini-revival, having beaten Mpumlanga Black Aces 4-0 at home and Sundowns 3-2 away before Christmas.

Manqoba Mnqgithi's bottom-half side just did not have the arsenal to match Ajax's technically gifted and superbly drilled outfit.

Given the heat, it was no surprise that most of the first-half action came in the first 20 minutes, including a goal on either side.

AmaZulu opened the scoring in the 10th minute by beating a lazy offside trap. Lehlohonolo Majoro's pass down the left channel put Namibian strike partner Tangeni Shipahu through to clinically finish past Hans Vonk.

But the AmaZulu back four were left hanging their heads with as much embarrassment five minutes later when they were left flat-footed by a smart goal by Ajax, set up by a sublime piece of skill by Thulani Serero.

The South African under-20 international skipped past the challenge of Warren Bishop just outside the area, and his side-footed pass was pounced on by Zimbabwean striker Billiat Khama who smacked it past goalkeeper Mbongeni Mzimela.

In the conditions, the team that scored early after the break would be favourites to win.

That side was Ajax in the 51st minute when Derek Decamps got in a well-placed header to Sameehg Doutie's corner from the right that beat Mzimela's desperate dive.

If AmaZulu had pretensions of fighting their way back into the game they were thwarted by Ajax's classy performance.

It was the Capetonians who put in the effort and continued creating chances. Clayton Daniels headed wide at the near post from a corner, Khama shot off target when through on the right and Brent Carelse hit the side-netting as Ajax's one fault was an inability to close out the game with a third goal.

PSL
Rank Team P W L D GF GA PTS
1 Mamelodi Sundowns 13 9 4 0 20 9 27
2 Kaizer Chiefs 13 8 3 2 16 7 26
3 Orlando Pirates 13 7 2 4 16 9 25
4 Ajax Cape Town 13 7 3 3 19 13 24
5 Santos 13 5 2 6 14 10 21
6 Bloem Celtic 12 6 4 2 15 12 20
7 Golden Arrows 13 5 4 4 16 15 19
8 Free State Stars 13 4 4 5 9 11 17
9 Vasco Da Gama 12 4 4 4 16 15 16
10 Bidvest Wits 12 4 5 3 18 16 15
11 AmaZulu 13 3 4 6 21 21 15
12 Platinum Stars 12 3 3 6 11 11 15
13 Maritzburg Utd 13 3 6 4 13 20 13
14 SuperSport United 13 3 6 4 11 18 13
15 Moroka Swallows 13 0 8 5 8 19 5
16 Black Aces 13 1 10 2 9 26 5