Ajax, Santos scrap for points
December 20, 2005 Edition 1
Rodney Reiners
For Ajax Cape Town and Santos, there is no time to catch an early whiff of the Christmas turkey.
Before the two Cape football clubs can savour the taste of the festive season, they first have a tricky Premier League derby to negotiate at Green Point Stadium tomorrow night.
The points on offer are certain to be far more delicious and rewarding than whatever the Christmas lunch has to offer.
Santos, after two recent victories, have screamed up the Premier League log and are currently in seventh spot on 24 points. Ajax are 10th, but only one point behind - an indication of just how tight things are in mid-table.
The closeness in points is perhaps also an indication of how close the two Cape teams are in terms of quality and ability. And this should make for a really tense and absorbing derby.
Ajax Cape Town coach Gordon Igesund lamented the fact that his side failed to get a game under the belt ahead of tomorrow's derby after their match against Bloemfontein Celtic was called off on Sunday because the goalposts and markings on the pitch in Bloemfontein did not conform with Fifa rules.
"It was a joke," said Igesund, "but the referee was right in his decision. There was just no way we could play with the markings all wrong and the goals not even opposite each other.
"Obviously it was disappointing. I wanted to give my players a good run as preparation for derby against Santos tomorrow. I also had a few players out suspended. Now, with the game not taking place, they remain suspended and I will have to do without them for tomorrow's derby."
Igesund was particularly sore about the loss of striker Nathan Paulse. The tall, unorthodox forward is all arms and legs and very awkward to mark. He has been in great form of late and Igesund had intended to build his derby game plan around the striker.
Paulse was supposed to sit out a one-match ban against Celtic and then return for the Santos match. But with the game called off, the suspension still stands.
"Nathan (Paulse) thrives on derbies and he has given Santos problems in the past," said Igesund.
"Obviously, I'm disappointed he cannot play. But the Bloemfontein situation was completely out of our hands and we will have to do without him."
Igesund also explained why Ajax (tomorrow's match is their home fixture) had opted to play the match at Green Point instead of Athlone.
"There are two reasons," he said. "Firstly, Athlone is also Santos' home ground. We wanted to psychologically take that advantage away from them by playing at Green Point.
Secondly, I believe that Santos' style of football is far more suited to Athlone. We want to play passing football and Athlone does not suit our style. When we recently played Kaizer Chiefs (at Newlands) and Mamelodi Sundowns (at Loftus), we were brilliant because those grounds allowed my players to fully express themselves.
"The wind at Athlone is still too much of a factor. Often you have to prepare three different team talks... one for with the wind, one for against the wind, and one for no wind at all," Igesund added jokingly.
As it is, Igesund believes Green Point affords him a better chance of defeating his neighbours - and he's confident his men can go out and do it.
"It's the last game before the Christmas recess and we want to go into the festive season with a positive result," said Igesund.
"Cape derbies are always hard-fought, tough encounters and pride plays a massive role on the day. It's the type of fixture that could go any way, and past form counts for nothing. But I think my team has enough to beat Santos, and I expect us to come away with a victory."
This week's PSL fixtures
Tomorrow
QwaQwa: Free State Stars v Moroka Swallows
Durban: Golden Arrows v Bloemfontein Celtic
Giyani: Dynamos v Mamelodi Sundowns
Johannesburg: Orlando Pirates v Maritzburg Classic
Green Point, 8pm: Ajax Cape Town v Santos
Dobsonville: Jomo Cosmos v Silver Stars
Thursday
Loftus: Supersport United v Bush Bucks
Friday
Thohoyandou: Black Leopards v Kaizer Chiefs
P W D L F A P
Pirates 19 10 5 4 29 20 35
Sundowns 18 9 7 2 27 10 34
Chiefs 18 7 10 1 25 15 31
Silver Stars 19 9 4 6 21 17 31
Swallows 18 7 7 4 22 15 28
Dynamos 19 6 7 6 15 18 25
Santos 19 4 12 3 20 18 24
Arrows 19 5 9 5 18 16 24
Supersport 18 5 9 4 24 26 24
Ajax CT 18 6 5 7 20 21 23
Leopards 19 5 5 9 17 24 20
Cosmos 17 4 6 7 16 18 18
Classic 18 4 6 8 11 18 18
FS Stars 19 2 10 7 19 25 16
Celtic 18 3 7 8 18 26 16
Bush Bucks 18 2 8 8 13 27 14
