By John Goliath
Nobody knows better the threat Erwin Isaacs poses than his former coach Roger de Sa. But the Wits coach and his team will not only be concentrating on the blond midfielder when he takes on his former team in a Premiership match at the Coetzenburg Stadium in Stellenbosch on Wednesday night.
Isaacs first came to prominence under De Sa's tutelage a couple of seasons ago but has taken his game to a new level in 2009 after a rather disappointing 2008-09 campaign under former coach David Bright. Injuries and personal problems also played a big part in his decline.
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But this season the Lavender Hill-born player has put everything behind him and that has probably been the main reason for his side's eight-match unbeaten run and current second position on the Premiership log.
The former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper, though, believes there is much more to Santos than Isaacs and says there are potential threats all over the park in the Santos team.
"I know Erwin very well and he is a very special player," De Sa siad on Tuesday. "He has a lot of ability and will be a threat every time you play against him.
"But Santos have a whole lot of other players who are also very dangerous. I created a lot of monsters when I was their coach and it's not going to be an easy game for us," De Sa added.
The Clever Boys have hit a little snag, however, after going through their first batch of games unbeaten. In their past four fixtures they have drawn two and lost two. But Santos coach Boebie Solomons says he is taking nothing for granted against the team he helped to regain promotion to the Premiership.
"Complacency is my biggest concern at the moment," Solomons said. "We have to guard against that. We haven't achieved anything yet and there is still a long way to go."
Champions SuperSport United lead the way following their 2-1 win over Wits last Sunday. They have again been the most consistent team in the league and Solomons says that could be a deciding factor in the shortened season.
"Consistency is key," he said. "The level of performance theplayers put in could go a long away in deciding the champions. Players who come in for injured and suspended players must also be able to step up. We are treating each game like a cup final and that has helped us a lot."
Third-placed Ajax Cape Town will take on the beleaguered Jomo Cosmos at the Rand Stadium tonight looking to secure three valuable points and preserve their unbeaten away record.
Caretaker coach Jan Pruijn will probably will be on the sidelines for the last time and will possibly be joined by new coach Foppe de Haan, who was supposed to arrive in Cape Town at 11pm on Tuesday night from the Netherlands to officially take up the job.
Cosmos are bottom of the log and struggling to stay in the Premiership. This could be a fantastic chance for the Urban Warriors to get some points off Jomo Sono's side. But first they will have to find a way to get the ball in the back of the net, though.
Ajax have not been convincing in front of goal and their 0-0 draw against the MTN8 champions Golden Arrows underlined the team's frailties in scoring positions.
Pruijn believes the key could be to get more players in scoring positions, with Ajax wingers Sameehg Doutie and Franklin Cale always a good bet to get quality crosses into the opposition penalty area.
"We need to get more players into the box and I think the winger on the opposite side of the penalty area should get in at the far post to try and meet the crosses as well," Pruijn said. "If Doutie makes the cross, Cale must always be at the second post."
Both Santos and Ajax will also be hoping Platinum Stars can travel to the Super Stadium in Atteridgeville and beat SuperSport tonight. The champs are three points ahead of Santos and four points ahead of Ajax.
FIXTURES
Wednesday
Golden Arrows v Bloemfontein Celtic, Chatsworth Stadium
Free State Stars v AmaZulu, Goble Park, 3.30pm
Orlando Pirates v Maritzburg United, Orlando Stadium
Black Aces v Kaizer Chiefs, Puma Rugby Stadium
Moroka Swallows v Mamelodi Sundowns, Dobsonville Stadium
SuperSport United v Platinum Stars, Super Stadium
Jomo Cosmos v Ajax Cape Town, Rand Stadium
Santos v Wits, Coetzenburg Stadium, 7.30pm
- This article was originally published on page 13 of Cape Times on November 04, 2009
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