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Birds held by Urban Warriors

Johannesburg - Ajax Cape Town have failed to bag the three points when they played to a 1-1 draw against Moroka Swallows at Dobsonville Stadium on Wednesday night.
 
The Urban warriors were hoping for a victory and to close the gap on log leaders Kaizer Chiefs, however, the result keeps them at position two with 22 points while the hosts remain at position 13 with 14 points.
 
Both sides could not carry on with their form which gave them the three points in their previous encounters.
 
A 74th strike by Siyabonga Nomvethe gave the hosts the lead after a brilliant assist by Felix Obada. However, two minutes later, Franklin Cale ensured the visitors got something out of the game.
 
Although the first half wasn’t electrifying as it was expected to be, Swallows were the first side to attack as Siyabonga Nomvethe attempted to play a cross into the box as early as the sixth minute, but did not trouble Anssi Jaakkola.
 
After 30 minutes of play, Swallows moved forward looking for an opener through Lerato Chabangu, but his effort lacked power to trouble Jaakkola.
 
The Birds were reckless in their half as they committed a number of fouls, but the visitors could not capitalise on that, and in the 43rd minute, Larry Cohen fouled Thabiso Nkwana and Roger De Sa’s side fumbled.
 
The first stanza did not produce goals and with 15 minutes into the second half, Tashreeq Morris managed to get a chance to score but his shot went wide.
 
However, the experienced Nomvethe headed home in the 74th minute after a great assist from substitute Obada, giving Fani Madida’s men the desired lead.
 
The celebration didn’t last long though, as Scott provided Cale with a pass to slot home with his left foot to level matters two minutes later.
 
Just like the first 45 minutes of the match, the second half failed to produce clear scoring opportunities. Swallows introduced Vuyisile Wana and he tried to unleash a shot, but it went wide in the 90th minute, which was a golden chance to take the three points.
 
In the dying minutes of the match, both sides lacked creativity on the night as they shared the points.

Scorers:
Moroka Swallows (0) 1 (Nomvethe 74’)
Ajax Cape Town (0) 1 (Cale 76’)

Teams:
Moroka Swallows: Greg Etafia, Luvhengo Mungomeni, Rudi Isaacs, Larry Cohen, Tsietsi Mahoa, Vladimir Mandic (Lucky Baloyi 54’), Sandile Sibande (Vuyisile Wana 66’), Lantshene Phalane, Dikgang Mabalane (Felix Obada 70’) Siyabonga Nomvethe, Lerato Chabangu
 
Ajax Cape Town: Anssi Jaakkola, Nazeer Allie, Rivaldo  Coetzee, Mosa Lebusa, Milton Ncube, Travis Graham, Franklin Cale, Granwald Scott, Nathan Paulse, Bantu Mzwakali (Cecil Lolo 90+’), Thabiso Nkoana (Tashreeq Morris 57’)
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