Ajax can end Bethlehem bogey
Can an in-form Ajax Cape Town do the impossible against Free State Stars in Bethlehem on Wednesday?
|||Cape Town - Can an in-form Ajax Cape Town do the impossible against Free State Stars in Bethlehem on Wednesday?
Roger de Sa’s team have never beaten Ea Lla Koto away from home in 12 matches, having suffered nine defeats and three draws.
The Urban Warriors do have a better record against Stars in Cape Town, though, with seven wins, three draws and three losses at home.
One of those victories came earlier this season when Ajax triumphed 2-1 at the Cape Town Stadium in August, with Mosa Lebusa and Prince Nxumalo scoring for the home side, while Sthembiso Ngcobo netted for Stars.
What will make De Sa confident of seeing his side end their bogey streak against Free State Stars away (Wednesday, 6pm kickoff) is the fact his team are on a four-match unbeaten run.
They beat SuperSport United 3-1 in Atteridgeville, drew 2-2 with high-riding Mpumalanga Black Aces three days later in Cape Town, overcame Sagrada Esperança 2-1 in Angola in the Caf Confederations Cup, and pulled off a superb 3-2 win against Polokwane City in sweltering conditions in Limpopo at the weekend.
In contrast, Free State Stars have won just one out of their last six matches, with four defeats and one draw as well.
That single victory did come in Bethlehem against Orlando Pirates, though, so new coach Giovanni Solinas will hope for the Goble Park venue to do the trick once more against Ajax.
De Sa will have to rejig his central defence, with Ghanaian recruit Lawrence Lartey suspended after he was sent off following two yellow cards against Polokwane on Saturday, but will hope that Bafana Bafana star Rivaldo Coetzee is back from injury.
But he will be able to call on red-hot striker Prince Nxumalo, who’s scored 10 goals in as many games in the league this season. “It will be even more difficult now with Lawrence Lartey suspended after his red card, so we’ll miss him. Last week we also had Mosa (Lebusa) and Rivaldo out, so we kind of had to reshuffle at the back. Hopefully we get them back in time for this match now,” De Sa told the club website.
“Prince has done really well for us. Both goals against Polokwane on Saturday were really well taken. Both of them were sought of him running at defenders, getting to the edge of the box and producing finishes with the side foot. He’s really showing signs of being a good striker, and I hope it continues. He’s been leading the line pretty well, especially with Nathan (Paulse, injured) out as well.”
Ajax - who are in eighth place on 26 points, level with Orlando Pirates but with a poorer goal difference - have a busy programme at the moment, and will have played three matches in seven days as they take on Sagrada in the second leg of the Caf Confederations Cup on Saturday at Athlone Stadium.
“It’s a tough trip for us once again. We’ve had a nice run, some good results run on the road, but it’s always challenging. We are a little thin still, we have a couple of injuries, but again we’ll try our best to put a good team together and go out there and play well. We are enjoying being on the road together; the guys are pulling together nicely. There is a buzz about the team at the moment,” De Sa said.
Wednesday’s Premiership Fixtures
6pm: Free State Stars v Ajax Cape Town (Bethlehem)
7.30pm: Mamelodi Sundowns v Mpumalanga Black Aces (Atteridgeville), Maritzburg United v Wits (Pietermaritzburg)
ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za
@IndyCapeSport
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