Roger De Sa is looking for another improved effort from his Ajax Cape Town squad when they host Platinum Stars at the Cape Town Stadium tomorrow night (kickoff 7.30pm).
After a recent erratic period, the Cape side put in a solid display to defeat the University of Pretoria 1-0 away last month. That was the last time Ajax were in action – and, now that it’s back to business this week, head coach De Sa is hoping the lay-off has done his team the world of good.
“We’ve been hot and cold all season,” said De Sa. “But we put in a workmanlike performance to beat Tuks last time and that obviously meant we could go into the break in a good frame of mind.
“There are so many breaks in the PSL that, as a coach, you learn to manage it. It’s all about planning and using it to regroup.
“We’ve worked on a number of areas and played a number of friendly games against First Division teams like Vasco da Gama, Santos and Cape Town All Stars. In the end, it’s all about making the break work for us.
“But we’ve got to put the inconsistency behind us and we’ve got to step it up. There are seven games left and I believe finishing in the top eight is do-able. It’ll be tough, because our remaining fixture programme sees us playing against either title challengers or relegation candidates … and that’s always dangerous. It means we will have to be at our best.”
De Sa admitted that his team are in for a really tough challenge against third-placed Dikwena. “The last time we played them, they beat us convincingly and I’m expecting a similar game from them.
This week’s PSL fixtures
Today: Black Aces v Chiefs
Tomorrow: Ajax v Platinum Stars (CT Stadium, 7.30pm); Cosmos v Wits; Polokwane City v Sundowns.
Friday: Maritzburg v Aces. Saturday: Golden Arrows v Pirates; Polokwane City v Chippa; Sundowns v Jomo Cosmos; Chiefs v Ajax (FNB Stadium, 8.15pm); Wits v FS Stars
Sunday: Platinum Stars v SuperSport; Bloem Celtic v UP - Cape Times