Ajax crash out of Telkom Knockout

Cape Town - Golden Arrows claimed an upset 1-0 win over Ajax Cape Town at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Saturday to advance into the quarterfinals of the Telkom Knockout. 

South Africa Under-23 player Andile Fikizolo was the one who kept the Ajax defenders busy in the first ten minutes. Abel Mabaso also responded with a threatening shot, but it cleared the crossbar. 

In the 23^rd minute Jaakkola pulled off a great save, denying Kuda Mahachi a goal. Ten minutes later it was Mbaeva who also made a great save after a shot that was taken by Isaacs. 

In the dying minutes of the first half the Ajax goalkeeper made a good save from a  Deon Hotto shot. 

In the second half Bafana Bafana defender Rivaldo Coetzee proved his worth as he made sure that he cleared everything that came from the Arrows attack. 

Riyaad Norodien almost found the back of the net for Ajax but his effort missed the target after a good assist that was made by Ndiviwe Mdabuka in the 50th minute. 

In the 71^st minute Gladwin Shitolo gave Arrows a lead when he received the ball from Fikizolo, pushed it inside the box and pulled a ground shot which Jaakkola couldn’t get his hands to, taking the score to 1-0. 

Four minutes later Jaakola received a red card after a one-on-one with Kuda Mahachi as he committed a foul just outside the box. 

Ajax did not give up as they came in numbers and Lebusa almost found the equalizer in the 79^th minute but his header went over the crossbar. 

Despite being down to 10 men it was Ajax that took the game to Arrows as they kept them on the back foot, but the home team’s defence was solid. 

In the 86^th minute substitute Chapman pulled a long shot from range, but the young Ajax Cape Town goalkeeper Jody February was well positioned. 

The last chance for Ajax fell to Thomas Chideu but his shot missed the target and this saw Arrows advancing to the next stage.