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Ertugral hails Ajax's 'marvellous fight' against Pirates

Cape Town - Ajax Cape Town head coach Muhsin Ertugral hopes that his side can build momentum from their 3-0 victory over Orlando Pirates.

The Urban Warriors put three goals passed Buccaneers ‘keeper Jackson Mabokgwane as the Ikamva side look to climb out the relegation zone.

“To be honest I don’t have the words. My boys did a marvellous fight today. the Turkish-born coach told SuperSport TV.

“I have to congratulate them. We knew we were going to have these punches but it’s not about having the ball, it's about being organised and how you come in and close the zones.

“We were a little bit lucky but the boys played an excellent game.”

Mosa Lebusa opened the scoring for the hosts at Cape Town Stadium before a Yannick Zakri double secured maximum points for Ajax.

Ertugral took charge of the match from the technical area as he made a tactical change as early as 30 minutes into the match - Ndiviwe Mdabuka replaced Tashriq Morris.

“It was clear that if we had stayed with two midfielders they were going to overrun us because they have a certain pattern that will suck us out and make us vulnerable at the back,” he continued.

“So, we had to have three midfielders even though it was still early. In the end we had Brandon Petersen going out with concussion and Mosa was unlucky to get injured but the boys stood firm,” he added.

“It’s all about not getting behind the lines, they could suck you out especially if they find you one-on-one but we worked on these elements.

“It (the win) gets us closer. To win against such a good team also gives us the confidence and the momentum and hopefully we can grow from here.”

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