What made our success this past weekend all the more sweeter was the fact that the win over Ajax helped us get to the top of the table. We now find ourselves at a place in the league that we have been trying to get to in earnest for the past eight weeks; we finally achieved our objective and got to number one on Saturday.

The important thing for us is to stay there, and really if one has to be honest holding on top spot is really ours to lose, as we have played ourselves into a position where from here onwards we can only clutch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Our aim to keep onto the top spot in the league can begin in the perfect fashion against the defending league Champions Mamelodi Sundowns at the weekend. Sundowns are probably one of our main challengers for the title and a win over them this weekend, will allow us to have some breathing space at the top of the league.

One does not have to be an expert to know that in the past month, no less than four teams have laid claim to the number spot on the table, this demonstrates just how close the title race has been and could continue to be. A win this weekend though will allow for us to ease the congestion at the top and push our noses out in front, winning against Sundowns is never easy.

As we learnt last season when we played against them in the corresponding fixture that even though you can have the lead and dominate play, one or two mistakes on your part and they will finish off the game.

One always needs to be wary in a game especially against Sundowns when you keep on missing chances because they will come back strongly at you. On Saturday we will be prepared for them and have learnt from our past experiences to be able to understand how not to lose against them. We will also be out to put on a far better display than we did when played out a scoreless draw against Sundowns at the FNB Stadium in October. That game lacked a lot of spark from both sides and we will definitely be looking to improve on that performance.

Sundowns is ahead of us and I think I have spoke enough about them for the time being, for the moment I would like to take a step back and comment on our last league game Ajax Cape Town. I must add that I was really happy with the spirit of the game as I felt that both teams displayed good creative attacking football, which was played in a good clean manner. With two teams high up on the table facing each other there is always the chance of tempers flaring up, credit must go to the player’s from both teams, as there was no rough tackling during the game.

The performance we gave on Saturday evening was amongst our best of the season so far, the guys played with a lot of enthusiasm and were hungry for the win it was always going to be a case of us creating chances and making one count or two count.

Having Rotson back as an option up front really worked to our advantage and were able to pose more of a threat in attack, Rotson though should have scored with his 32nd minute shot in the end Siyabonga did well to tuck away the rebound.

We gave a far better account of ourselves at the back against Ajax and we kept things tight and did not get caught out or over extended like we did during our previous game against Jomo Cosmos. It was important for us to have kept a clean sheet, which we did, the defence over all stuck to their guns and kept a very dangerous frontline well quiet.

What was encouraging to see was the way we were able to deal with Ajax particularly in the first half, I do feel that we were able to frustrate them and they were reduced to trying their luck from distance.

As the new week began we did so knowing that we would be without Rotson Kilambe for Saturday’s game against Sundowns, as he collected a yellow card against Ajax, which was his third of the season so far. It means that he will be suspended for the game and we will have to change a number of personal around for the meeting with Sundowns. While Rotson is out, we do have Fabian McCarthy back in training and we are hoping to have Siphiwe Mkhonza in training later this week.

Well, for the moment I believe that is all. We have a busy week ahead preparing for the game on Saturday with the right to remain at the top of the table at stake. We most definitely do not want to have any slip ups against Sundowns. So we need to keep our focus through the week and not read the newspapers or listen much to what is going on television or radio.

Our preparations for the game have begun and we will go to all lengths in ensuring that we are more than ready to face up to Sundowns on Saturday.

Your Coach


Ernst Middendorp