Coaches taken for a ride in Cape Town after Ajax beat Leopards 4-3
Coaches taken for a ride in Cape Town
Posted: 2011-12-22 11:06
For both coaches, the 4-3 win for Ajax Cape Town over Black Leopards at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday night provided a roller-coaster of an emotional ride.
The Urban Warriors were leading 3-2 going into injury time, but then conceded an equalising goal to Kingston Nkatha, before Lebo Manyama scored the winner 30 seconds from time.
When the dust had finally settled it was Maarten Stekelenberg who was the happier man.
"I also enjoyed the game, but 30 seconds before the end of the match I wasn't enjoying it so much!
"We started well, but after that we looked flat, we didn't take enough responsibility in midfield, not well enough organised, always one step too late," said the Ajax mentor.
He admits his side were not always in control: "We took control for part of the second half, but then we gave it away and allowed them to score. You cannot give away the ball in the centre any more, and you cannot give away free-kicks like that.
"But like the coach said, that's football – from a very sad Christmas it becomes a very happy Christmas [after the late goal] – sometimes it's a very strange game!"
Three wins in a row mean that Stekelenberg is satisfied with his team's current form.
"We looked a bit more like a mature team in the last games – not so much up and down, we have controlled things, and the signing of [Matthew] Booth has brought stability and organising, and importantly, experience."
Lidoda Duvha coach Vladislav Heric was left frustrated by the result.
"Obviously I'm disappointed by the loss we suffered in the dying seconds. Only football can have such a drama, there is no other sport I believe can produce this.
"Despite this we had a nice game tonight, playing some good football, I believe everyone enjoyed our football today.
"We missed certain players that couldn't recover from the last game. I was surprised that we could score three goals against a team like Ajax.
"But we are conceding two, four goals a game and we need to wake up quickly. We have to act like the next game is our last game."
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