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Ajax defeat Wits in Cape Town

Cape Town - Ajax Cape Town claimed their first Absa Premiership win of 2014 when they edged out a 10-man Bidvest Wits side at Cape Town Stadium on Friday evening.

The away side put out a valiant display and dominated a large portion of possession as they fell to a fifth minute goal by Carl Lark which proved to be decisive to put Ajax on the brink of eight place.

A chance fell immediately for the home side when Carl Lark was sent a ball on the right flank. He burst into the box and got the better of his marker, only to see his shot scuffed wide of the post.  

But it took Lark only until the fifth minute for him to break the deadlock. Matthew Booth failed to clear a first time ball which fell to Nathan Paulse, who then pulled it back to the new signing as he fired it into the back of the net.

Wits pushed forward too and Matthew Pattison tested Anssi Jaakkola with a powerful long-range drive which the Finish shot-stopper got on the end of.

Midway through the half Matthew Booth was perhaps guilty of wasting a good opportunity when a corner kick was floated into the box and over his teammate Papy Faty. The set-piece met his head but the former Ajax defender could only see his effort bounce to the ground and turn wide of the post.

Wits nearly drew level in the 34th minute thanks to Onismor Bashera’s insistence. The player ran at an Ajax defender’s feet only to see his ball loop over towards goal, forcing Jaakkola to make a last ditch save with his finger-tips.

The Clever Boys were having the lion’s share of the possession but struggled to find the equalizer they had been searching for, seeing them walk into the break chasing a lead.

Things started to turn nasty in the final stages of the half and it saw Dankwae Kofi sent off. The midfielder was guilty of elbowing Abbubaker Mobara in the face and was shown an instant red car.

Asive Langwe was brought on after the break in place of Pattison, before Jaakkola was again at full stretch to beat away another Wits corner at the near post.

Parity was nearly restored in the 50th minute when when Bhasera fired a powerful strike from just outside the box which saw the ‘keeper tip it out of play with the slightest of touches.

It should have been 2-0 to Ajax three minutes later. Wits were caught on the counter and it allowed for Keagan Dolly to burst into the box and fire an effort over the bar.

The youngster looked to atone for his earlier miss when he struck a daisy-cutter in the 67th minute which went well wide of the far post, before Toriq Losper saw his stinging effort graze over the frame.

Gavin Hunt’s men thought they had scored a goal when an attempt from a corner kick was cleared off the line in the final moments of the game, but the ball did not cross the line, and Ajax managed to hold on for a narrow yet crucial win.
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