They brought the icy, tempestuous wind with them from Cape Town — but it only succeeded in blowing Ajax away as they tumbled to a 1-0 defeat against Bloemfontein Celtic at the Seisa Ramabodu Stadium when the new Premier Soccer League season got under way on Wednesday afternoon.
And in keeping with the sunny but cold Bloemfontein weather, the tempo of the game between two teams whose hopes had been heightened by winning pre-season tournaments was fast and furious, although lacking in much finesse and generally one-dimensional.
The crucial goal that got Celtic off to an encouraging start to their league campaign was scored by substitute Patrick Malokase in the 53rd minute with what was effectively his first touch of the ball.
Storming through the Ajax defence, Malokase succeeded in luring Ajax and former Bafana goalkeeper Hans Vonk out of position before guiding an angled shot into the net with a good deal of aplomb.
It provided Celtic with three points they deserved after playing attacking football and enjoying a clear territorial advantage — particularly in the first half when they played with the swirling wind at their backs.
Both sides took the field hampered by injuries and new Celtic coach Khabo Zondo said he was ”satisfied under the circumstances”.
”We have struggled to find a degree of consistency because of the inability to stick to the same line-up,” he added, ”but we are slowly getting where I would like the team to be and winning the opening premier league fixture was all-important.”
After coming into the pre-season Telkom Charity Cup only as late substitutes and winning the four-team tournament in style, Celtic were outplayed by Premier Soccer League champions Mamelodi Sundowns while suffering a comprehensive 4-1 defeat in the first round of the SAA Supa8 tournament last week.
But with Moses Spandeel leading the revival and the usual vociferous and enthusiastic crowd of 10 000 providing encouragement, Celtic would seem to be back on track.
Ajax, however, demonstrated little of the enterprise that earned them the Absa Cup at the tail end of last season and return to rainy Cape Town with little comfort. — Sapa