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Khanyiso Tshwaku
Cape Town - Bragging rights are up for grabs when Santos hosts Ajax Cape Town at the Athlone Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Santos look to get their PSL campaign back on track when they host cross-town rivals Ajax Cape Town.
If their MTN8 loss to Orlando Pirates is factored in, Santos has yet to break their duck this season and will look to put one over Ajax. Their defensive frailties were exhibited when they relinquished a one goal lead to lose 3-1 against Moroka Swallows in their opening game and they were unable to break down a resolute Bidvest Wits defence at the Mbombela Stadium. They also risk losing key defender Zairon van Beulen, who is sitting on two yellow cards.
Their corresponding fixture last season produced seven goals in what was one of the games of the season, but Santos will look for maximum points to kick-start their season. They could have star striker Erwin Isaacs back after he limped off with a foot injury against Swallows, but will be without Ricardo Skippers and Salmaan king, who are not fully fit.
Santos captain Tyren Arendse recognised the importance of the derby and it could help to resurrect their stuttering season and told psl.co.za that the derby is all about pride and they need to be clinical.
“We need to minimise our mistakes. That is the only reason why the other teams score. If we can eliminate that we will do well. When you go into a derby, you think about the next day, when you leave your home and step outside, you want to be proud,” he told the website.
Ajax’s league form has not been flattering as they have collected only one point from a maximum six. Their stuttering league form has been in contrast to their cup streak, which saw them hold Kaizer Chiefs to a goalless draw in the MTN8 semi-final first leg, but losing to Platinum Stars and held to a draw by their bogey team Maritzburg United.
They are capable of scoring goals, with the 5-2 pasting of SuperSport United a good example in the MTN8, but they were wasteful against Chiefs. Having sold key defender Clayton Daniels to big-spenders Mamelodi Sundowns, they will be hard-pressed to contain Santos, who always seem to find a second wind against their Cape rivals. They also have midfield hardman and captain Granwald Scott on two yellow cards, putting him in danger of missing the second leg of the MTN8 semi-final on Saturday.
Ajax coach Maarten Stekelenburg told the team’s website that they took lessons from their draw against Chiefs and they aim to implement them against Santos, but was wary of the threat Santos posed.
“It was not easy to contain the Chiefs attack however we did and that achievement has boosted the player’s confidence. Santos is not an easy team to break down because they defend in numbers, waiting for an opportunity for a counter-attack,” he said.
Kickoff is at 19:30.
