Cape Town – Football in the Mother City was left disappointed, disillusioned and decidedly red-faced as both Cape Town City and Ajax Cape Town crashed to ignominious defeats at the weekend.
City went down 2-1 to rookies Baroka FC at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday night, while Ajax were comprehensively outplayed 2-0 by PSL log leaders Kaizer Chiefs at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
Of course, losing is part and parcel of the sport, it’s to be accepted, but, for the two Cape PSL clubs, it’s the manner of the defeats that should be hugely concerning. In short, to be brutally honest, the performances were poor and the two coaches - City’s Eric Tinkler and Ajax’s Roger de Sa - need to have an urgent round-table with their squads about the energy, desire and commitment required of professional footballers.
This week, the Telkom Knockout competition gets under way and it’s an opportunity for the two clubs to take stock and plot a more purposeful way forward. City are first up when they host Bloemfontein Celtic in an opening round Cup tie at the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday (kick-off 7.30pm). Then, on Saturday night, Ajax are in Atteridgeville to take on SuperSport United (8.15pm). Looking back at the weekend, both teams need drastic improvement if they are to make any headway in this competition.
City were listless and lethargic in their opening 45 minutes against Baroka on Saturday. Was there a hint of complacency? You betcha - Tinkler had spoken, at length, in the build-up to the fixture, of the players’ need to treat the opposition with respect. Baroka are new to the PSL, promoted as last season’s First Division champions, but the City coach was adamant that he wanted his team to treat the game like they would any of the bigger clubs. It was easier said than done, it would seem, as City were ripped to shreds by the enterprise of the hard-running, hardworking Baroka side. Needless to say, Tinkler was fuming afterwards.
“I’m disappointed and I’m angry,” said Tinkler. “The way we conceded the goals was just unacceptable - I mean, when our goalkeeper made the save from the free-kick, we were just standing there watching, instead of reacting.
“We knew what we would be up against. The message to the players was clear, that if they didn’t go out there prepared to work hard they would come short against Baroka - and that’s what happened, it’s just the reality of this competitive league.”
Over at Ajax, things appear to be going from bad to worse. The loss to Chiefs means the Cape side are still looking for their first win of the season after five PSL games (three defeats, two draws). While they may have been a bit unfortunate in the previous four, they were always second-best against the Soweto club.
It was the same old issues that affected Ajax. Up front, they lacked composure and decisiveness, which led to the squandering of scoring chances; and, at the back, as always, a lapse in concentration led to the conceding of a very soft goal.
The Star