/ 18 September 2006

Chiefs, Ajax in fourth draw

Ajax Cape Town and Kaizer Chiefs both made it four draws from four games when they played a goalless Premier League game at the Kimberley Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

But it could have been worse for Chiefs, with Rowen Fernandez saving a 70th minute penalty from new Bafana squad member Nathan Paulse.

Ajax’s home game was switched from Cape Town because of the unavailability of a suitable stadium.

Neither team was able to gain the initiative in a dour first half and play was mainly confined to the midfield.

The game came alive in the 70th minute when Chiefs’s Derrick Spencer was penalised for an infringement on Paulse and the Ajax striker took the spot-kick himself.

But the nonchalant penalty was comfortably saved by Chiefs’s captain Fernandez — and this seemed to belatedly spur the Amakhosi into action.

Urged on by a crowd that consisted almost entirely of their supporters, Chiefs were desperately close to scoring on two occasions in the last 15 minutes.

But former Bafana goalkeeper Hans Vonk made a great save from Tinashe Nengomashe in the 78th minute and a goal-bound header from Kaizer Motaung Junior was cleared off the line in the 87th minute — leaving Amakhosi coach Ernst Middendorp frustrated. – Sapa