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Ajax agenda: Beat Stars and close the gap on Amakhosi [Cape Times (South Africa)](Cape Times (South Africa) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) A HANGOVER is not the most enjoyable thing in the world. And Ajax Cape Town will have to get over their headache when they host Platinum Stars in a Premiership match at Cape Town Stadium tonight. The Urban Warriors had a lot of reasons to celebrate last weekend, when they announced a new sponsorship deal with a Chinese telecommunications company. The party, though, fizzled out on Sunday after they lost to league-leaders Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 in front of over 40 000 spectators in the Mother City. But now they will have to re-focus for the match against the 13th-placed Platinum Stars ahead of another blockbuster meeting with Orlando Pirates in the Telkom Knockout on Saturday. But how will Ajax put the defeat against Amakhosi behind them and focus on the unpredictable Stars, who have won only two matches this season? One of the few senior members of the team, midfielder Lance Davids, offered some insight yesterday. "Chiefs will always be a different kind of game, especially for the youngsters," the former Bafana Bafana midfielder told the Cape Times yesterday. "I don't want to be disrespectful to Platinum Stars, but the young players always want to show what they can do against a big team. And I know, as a player, a lot of stuff can go through your mind after a defeat like that. But we have to remember that there is still a long way to go this season. "The coach (Roger de Sa) said we can turn the whole thing around against Stars if we can get a win tomorrow night. Chiefs are now 10 points ahead, but there is still a lot of football to be played this season." While forgetting about the Chiefs match, the fifth-placed Ajax have to guard against thinking about their cup assignment against the Buccaneers at Orlando Stadium. The Cape side haven't had the best of cup runs over the last few seasons, and have been eliminated in the first round of the Telkom Knockout in the last two seasons. "It's business as usual tomorrow," Davids said. "We will be fighting for another three points. Saturday's game is a cup match, and I think we have to concentrate on the league first because it's our immediate assignment. "We need the points to stay with the leaders. So we can't afford to think too far ahead. So we have to get tomorrow's game out of the way first before we can think of the cup." Davids, who helped Ajax avoid relegation with a few stellar performance two seasons ago, hasn't had a lot of time on the park this season. He has only made a few cameo appearances off the bench when Ajax needed someone to help close up the match. But the former German-based player knows that the likes of Travis Graham and Granwald Scott are playing well, and he just wants to work hard to take his chances when they present themselves. "As a senior player you always want to play in every game," he said. "The guys that are starting are doing well and all I can do is to perform well at training and hopefully I will take my chance when I get it." Cape Times (c) 2014 Independent Newspapers (Pty) Limited. All rights strictly reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |