Bidvest Stadium
Bidvest Wits: (2)5 - Mahlambi 20, Hlatshwayo 31, Mhango 59, 78, Keene 61
Ajax Cape Town: 0
JOHANNESBURG – It’s clear now why Gavin Hunt, a man who is stingy with compliments, describes this Wits attack as the best the club has had in his almost four-year tenure.
You can even go as far as to say that this is the best attack Wits have had in the last decade. Ajax won’t dispute that after Tuesday night’s drubbing.
Hunt gushes just at the mention of Gabadinho Mhango, Eleazer Rodgers, Cuthbert Malajila, James Keene and Phakamani Mahlambi. Rodgers and Mhango led the Clever Boys in the first half of the season, helping them win the MTN8 with Malajila playing a cameo role.
On Tuesday Hunt started with his trusted lieutenants in Mahlambi and Keene for the first time this season. The pair spent the better part of last year nursing injuries. It didn’t take them long to click. They harassed Ajax with Mahlambi’s speed and skills that was complimented by Keene’s intelligence and high work rate.
The Urban Warriors’ coach, Stanley Menzo, couldn’t take the torment. He was so angry he replaced centreback Lawrence Lartey with Roscoe Pietersen with a minute to go before halftime. Lartey had had a rough night, struggling to handle Mahlambi and Keene.
It was probably was a good thing for the two coaches that the heavy downpour that hit here stopped just before the match, otherwise they would have been soaked.
Hunt and Menzo hardly sat down, barking orders from the bench to ensure that their clubs start the year on a winning note. The Dutch coach, Menzo, kept stressing that his club keeps their shape while Hunt wanted his team to be quicker in their approach and press the visitors.
Mahlambi and Keene did that well. They pressured Ajax to making mistakes. That’s how the first goal came. Keene harassed the Urban Warriors, forcing them into a mistake that Mahlambi capitalised from.
Mahlambi then used his skills to zip past Ajax defenders. Mosa Lebusa stretched his limbs to their maximum to force a corner. But that was denying the inevitable. Thulani Hlatshwayo headed Mogakolodi Ngele’s cross to put Wits in control.
Mhango tightened the grip, scoring with his first touch before completing a brace. Mhango did all of that from the bench. Keene scored his first of the season between Mhango’s goals.
The Capetonians never showed up, still hungover from the almost seven-week break. They couldn’t even take chances that Wits handed them, like when Darren Keet dropped the ball between Thabo Mosadi and Tashreeq Morris. The two stuttered before Wits snatched the ball away.
This wasn’t the Ajax that finished last year with back-to-back wins over Bloemfontein Celtic and Chippa United without conceding. They struggled to find their bearings. Granwald Scott, making his Wits debut against the club he was synonymous with, covered almost every inch of the Clever Boys’ half, bullying his former teammates with ease.
The scary thing about Wits wasn’t so much this win. It was their bench, featuring Daine Klate, Mhango, Malajila Moeneeb Josephs and Xola Mlambo, showing the quality at their disposal.
That depth will come in handy from now until June as Wits will be competing in three fronts – the league, CAF Champions League and the Nedbank Cup. It’s the league though that Hunt and Wits desperately want.