Ajax Cape Town maintained their position at the top of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) standings with a well-deserved 3-1 win over Bloemfontein Celtic at the Athlone Stadium on Wednesday night.
The opening minutes of the game were scrappy as neither team were able to stamp their authority on the match.
However, as the half progressed, Ajax started to gain the upper hand and took the lead in the 14th minute when debutant Dipsy Selowane stabbed the ball home from close range after a long throw-in found its way through to him.
Mfundo Shumana wasted a great chance in the 25th minute to double Ajax’s lead when he took too long to shoot after finding himself unmarked right in front of goal.
When he finally got his shot away, it was blocked by Postnet Omony, while his second attempt from the rebound was cleared off the line by Timothy Batabaire.
Phunya Sele Sele grabbed the equaliser in the 32nd minute.
But, two minutes later, the Urban Warriors were back in front when Erduardo Ferreira pounced from close range after Brett Evans’s free kick-found its way through the Celtic defence.
The Cape side’s lead was further increased three minutes before half-time when Mkhanyseli Siwahla latched on to Enoh Eyong’s through ball and clinically put the ball past Omony.
Compared with the busy first half, chances were few and far between in the second half.
A rare opportunity fell the way of Ferreira in the 70th minute, but he failed to connect with a cross, while a few minutes later Eyong came within inches of scoring a spectacular long-range shot.
Ferreira looked determined to add to his first-half goal, but nearly did so at the wrong end of the field when his headed clearance went inches wide of his own goal in the 75th minute.
The Cape side were comfortably able to hold on to their lead, no doubt leaving coach Craig Rosslee satisfied with the performance and the three points collected.
Meanwhile, Jomo Cosmos’ misery was compounded when they lost 2-0 to Bidvest Wits on Wednesday night.
Cosmos are presently rooted at the bottom of the table with 13 points, and it seems likely they will be relegated at the end of the season.
Ashraf Hendricks was the hero of the night for Wits after scoring a brace. He showed his true intentions at the beginning of the game after his header was ruled offside in only the second minute.
He was rewarded a little later when he scored his first goal in the 28th minute with a stunning header.
Hendricks completed his brace in the 39th minute of the game after heading a free-kick from Richard Rantjie.
In other PSL games played on Wednesday night, Orlando Pirates beat Moroka Swallows 3-0 and Thanda Royal Zulu edged Kaizer Chiefs 1-0. — Sapa