Ajax only need to beat the men from KwaZulu-Natal to win their first-ever title. If they lose or draw, they must hope Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs also lose or draw their matches.
|||Cometh the hour, cometh Ajax Cape Town’s longest-serving player.
Club captain and left back Brett Evans is set to make a spectacular return to the Urban Warriors’ starting line-up as coach Foppe de Haan looks to bolster his side with experience ahead of Saturday’s PSL finale against Maritzburg United at Cape Town Stadium (kickoff 3pm).
Ajax only need to beat the men from KwaZulu-Natal to win their first-ever title. If they lose or draw, they must hope Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs also lose or draw their matches.
It’s all coming down to a tense finale, and who better than the experienced Evans, who has played over 300 matches for the club, to come in and add some calmness.
That calmness was sorely lacking in Ajax’s last league game against Chiefs in Polokwane. The Cape side looked nervous walking off the field, while they hardly gave a different impression on it when they lost 4-0.
Their veteran left back has had a difficult season with injuries and has had to sit on the bench with Lizo Mjempu having a good run at left full back.
But in the last two matches, Mjempu hasn’t performed at his best and it seems like Evans is going to take back his position.
“I’m feeling good in training and I have been working hard. But it’s going to be up to the coach if he wants me to play on Saturday or not. The main thing is that everybody is working hard for the weekend,” Evans said.
But while Evans will bring a degree of calmness, he says that De Haan has been the one playing a major role in keeping the players relaxed before they enter the Cape Town Stadium cauldron.
De Haan has apparently used his dry humour to get the laughter going in the changeroom, although not all of his jokes have been funny!
“The coach is always the one to break the ice. He is not the funniest guy around, but he comes up with some pearlers and that has been key to get everyone to relax so that we can go about our job and play our normal game,” Evans said.
“He gives off this air off calmness. Obviously with his experience and his age, I think he believes in himself and I think the players feed of that. He has given the rest of the boys the confidence to raise their level.”
But while most people are worried about Ajax’s mental state, De Haan has kept a close eye on Maritzburg. “The Team of Choice” have nothing to play for in the fixture, after securing their future in the top flight two weeks ago.
But De Haan knows they will be out to spoil the party, and that’s why he wants his team go out there and destroy the KwaZulu-Natal side in the first five minutes, much like sister club Ajax Amsterdam did last week when they won the Dutch league by beating FC Twente.
“I will show them a video of how Ajax Amsterdam approached the first five minutes of their game. The other side didn’t have a kick of the ball in the first five minutes. They were real aggressive. That is the way you have to do it,” De Haan said.
“Maritzburg are a dangerous team. They have a few good players, like (Rudolph) Bester and (Kurt) Lentjies. They also have (former Ajax player) Diyo Sibisi. It’s always dangerous, because when you play against your former club, you want to show the club what you are made of,” De Haan added.
Meanwhile, Vasco da Gama are keeping their fingers crossed that Moroka Swallows do not not beat Aces so that they can avoid the promotion-relegation playoff.
But for that to happen, they must also beat neighbours Santos at Athlone Stadium tomorrow afternoon.
Vasco have only themselves to blame for their mid-season slump, and need a miracle to avoid the playoffs. However, stranger things have happened ...
* Ajax v Maritzburg United will be live on SuperSport 3 at 3pm.
FIVE THINGS AJAX CAN DO TO WIN THE TITLE
Dress the Urban Warriors girls in coats: Distractions could be costly for the players, so the Ajax dancing girls should rather be covered up tomorrow. And we also don’t want them to catch a cold, now do we?
Get a theme song: Every time “Eye of the Tiger” played in those Rocky movies, most people just wanted to run up stairs or bliksem each other. Maybe you okes should also get a song, with less testosterone of course.
Leave the dancing for the after-party: I know most of you aren’t going to get any sleep, but that doesn’t mean you must go out. Rather save the moves for the after-party at … where is it, by the way?
Do it for Foppe: You guys owe this man a lot. And I can think of no better way to say thank you than to hoist him up in the air and chant his name after you have clinched the trophy.
Take it all in: Much like a bride (or the bridesmaid with the shortest dress) gets all the attention on her wedding day, you guys are going to be the centre of attention. Try to take it in. An opportunity like this comes around about as often as fresh snoek in Sutherland. - Cape Times
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/step-up-mister-evans-1.1071417
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