Ajax in goalless draw v United
Ajax Cape Town and Supersport United played to a goalless draw at the Cape Town Stadium on Friday evening.
Despite the final score the game was an entertaining one as both teams created a number of goal-scoring chances that kept the fans on the edge of their seats.
The visitors could have taken an early lead but Laffor could not get the better of Westerveld who stood his ground in a one-on-one situation to make the save, then Booth stepped in to clear the danger.
In the 20th minute of the game a clearance by Westerveld fell at the feet of September but the United player skewed his shoot wide with an open goal beckoning.
The Urban Warriors fought back via Billiat who beat his marker wide on the Ajax left flank but his cross into the box was hit too heavy for Carelse to intercept.
In the 29th minute Ajax won a free-kick in a good position on the right, but the resultant kick was cleared by the United defence, minutes later a shot from the edge of the penalty area had Westerveld stretching to cover his goal but it flew wide.
Bryce Moon had the ball in the back of the Ajax net in the 32nd minute but the goal was ruled offside.
In the 35th minute of the game a Westerveld throw found Manyama on the right flank and his resultant cross is put out for a corner as Carelse hovered at the far post. Hlatshwayo’s header from the corner flew wide.
A spell of pressure by United in the 43rd minute saw the Ajax defence clear three consecutive goal-bound shots by the United strikers before the offside flag was raised, then Bryce Moon hit the back of the Ajax net but his effort was ruled out as the line-man raised his flag for another off-side infringement.
Supersport almost broke the deadlock when Nyondo found space on the left and with a clear path to the goals, his shot is parried by Westerveld onto the upright and Allie scrambled the ball clear on the far side.
The second half followed the same pattern as the first with Supersport taking the game to the home side; however with substitute Fanteni on the field Ajax pressed forward with purpose.
Morgan Gould the United captain, led a charmed life especially after his booking he he used his knee into the back of Fanteni to stop the Ajax player; however the match official gave the United defender a telling-off instead of his second yellow.
Ajax had the ball in the back of the United net however Billiat’s effort was also ruled out for an off-side.
Ajax debutant, Matthew Booth put in a few telling tackles and his aerial prowess enabled Ajax to deal with the United game plan to play high crosses into the Ajax penalty area.
Ajax almost scored a winning goal when Alexander burst through from the midfield and set Billiat clear but the Ajax striker hit his shot into the stands.
Both teams wound down the clock and settled for a draw after three minutes of extra time.
Can I please ask the management at Ajax to move the games back to Athlone. Cape Twon stadium is good for the really big games, but it's not practical to have 5000 people in an 80 000 seater facility. In fact, it makes you sick to sit in such an empty stadium. Athlone is also not just about the size, it's about the history and the community (from Mitchels Plain to Ravensmead).