Ajax Amsterdam were given a fright by Moroka Swallows who held the Dutch champions to an exciting 2-2 draw in their Total Cup match played at Milpark’s Bidvest stadium on Sunday.
The teams were level 1-1 at half-time.
Ajax Amsterdam defeated their little brothers, Ajax Cape Town, 3-0 at Newlands last Wednesday to lift the Cup.
The short tour was used by Ajax coach Ronald Koeman to keep his side active and fit during the Dutch midseason winter break.
The Premier Soccer League club showed little respect to their more experienced Dutch opponents. Ajax started well and Swallows goalkeeper Conrad Hendricks did well to save from the Dutch champions’ new Greek signing, Angelo Charisteas, in the ninth minute.
Five minutes later, Dutch midfield star Rafael van der Vaart lobbed over the Ajax crossbar.
At the other end, Pitso Lekone also lobbed his shot over the Ajax crossbar.
Ajax opened the scoring when midfielder Nicholas Mitea beat the offside trap, raced from past bemused Swallows defenders and rounded Hendricks to put his side into a 1-0 lead in the 28th minute.
The Birds fought back well and a lucky deflection denied Swallows defender Gary McNab a shot on target.
But McNab had the appreciative 8 000-strong crowd on their feet when he rifled home a free-kick from the edge of Ajax’s penalty area two minutes from half-time to level the match.
Lungisani Ndlela struck the Ajax post in the 60th minute.
But it was Ajax substitute Yannis Anastasiou who restored the Dutch club’s lead when he netted from a corner in the 69th minute.
Then it was the turn of another substitute, Birds’ Macdonald Mukansi, who beat Ajax and Bafana keeper Hans Vonk hands down in the 79th minute to earn the Birds a deserved draw against one of Europe’s top sides.
Mukansi almost snatched a winner, but his shot in the 88th minute hit the crossbar. — Sapa