All the tears have been shed, good times remembered and the many memories shared in the wake of the death of Ajax Cape Town right-back Cecil Lolo.
The Cape club had two PSL fixtures postponed to allow the squad time to grieve – but now it’s time to move on. Life’s like that …
It’s important that Ajax hold on to what Lolo meant to them, but the season continues – and Lolo, for one, would want the team to be at its best and perhaps even launch a title-challenge as a tribute.
It will be an emotional occasion when Ajax host Orlando Pirates in a PSL fixture at the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday evening (7.30pm). While it will be an occasion to remember Lolo, so cruelly cut down in the prime of his career, it’s also a game that the Capetonians need to keep their wits about them.
They have to stay focused, they cannot allow the squad to be side-tacked by the drama and nostalgia of the evening. There are points on offer – and, with Pirates coming off a morale-boosting 3-1 success over arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto derby over the weekend, the warning has been posted.
Last week, there was much anger and frustration from Pirates fans vented at coach Eric Tinkler. While the Soweto club is doing excellently in Cup competitions, reaching the final of CAF Confederations Cup and the semi-finals of the Telkom Knockout, their league form had been taking strain.
But, in the perfect riposte, Tinkler’s men rose to the occasion with great character, on the biggest stage in South African football, by comfortably dispatching defending league champions Chiefs with goals from Issa Sarr, Ayanda Gcaba and Thamsanqa Gabuza. “While our form in the league hasn’t been good, I always knew that it would need just one performance to change it,” said Tinkler. “I mean, you don’t become a bad team overnight…
“So for the team to come good in the league in the Derby was just fantastic. But we have to put that behind us now, we should focus on consistency. We have a really tough schedule that awaits us.
“It’s Ajax on Wednesday, then we’ve got Chiefs again, this time in the Telkom semi-finals, and the first leg of the Confederations Cup final (against Tunisian team, Etoile du Sahel).”
Tinkler was particularly happy with the manner in which his players responded to the tactical plan hatched to thwart Chiefs.
“We were very good,” he said. “We put them under pressure, we played with energy and never allowed them any space to play. Chiefs are always great on the break, but we were able to recover well whenever we lost the ball.
“The team, as a whole, did a magnificent job in the win against Chiefs, and it’s an example of what they can produce. I was very proud of the performance… but now it’s all about the next game, and that’s Ajax on Wednesday.”
So it’s a game of contrasts in the Mother City on Wednesday, with Ajax burdened by loss and grief, while Pirates ride a wave of euphoria after the Derby success.
Football, though, is a strange game – and, more often than not, emotion trumps form. And with Ajax, no doubt, playing with Lolo as motivation, it should make for an intriguing contest. - Cape Times