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Ajax Cape Town host Leopards in crucial playoff clash
Ajax Cape Town will lock horns with Black Leopards at Rand Stadium on Friday afternoon in what will be a pivotal match in deciding who comes out on top in the 2019/20 Premier Soccer League (PSL) promotion/relegation playoffs.
Kick-off is at 3pm CAT (SA, GMT+2).
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The Urban Warriors clawed themselves back into contention with a 5-1 thumping of Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila at Bidvest Stadium earlier this week.
Siphesihle Mkhize ignited a run of five goals in 18 thrilling second-half minutes.
Chumani Butsaka netted his first goal for the club while Eleazar Rodgers scored a quick-fire hat-trick to lead the Cape club to the top of the standings on goal difference.
Ajax Cape Town now know that a comprehensive win over Lidoda Duvha in the penultimate game of the playoffs will put them in the driving seat before Monday's match between Leopards and TTM at FNB Stadium.
"Very frustrating first 45 minutes, couple of changes and you can see how the boys came out firing after the break – partly due to a bit of a bollocking in the changing room at halftime to get them going. We were a bit nervous in the first half for some reason but in the second we played with very little fear and you could see the difference," said Ajax Cape Town head coach Calvin Marlin.
He continued: "The guys are in good spirits. You can't compare one game to another but I hope we go out there [on Friday] and get off to a good start compared to the poor start to games we've been having. Hopefully we can get goals early and see out the game – that is the ideal situation – but football isn't like that."
"The boys are positive and we just want to leave everything out there on the field. One more game, what happens in the last game [of the playoffs] is out of our hands. If we can do our job properly, win the game, then whatever happens, happens."
"It is all up to us now to hopefully beat Leopards by a good margin because that is what it will come down to at the end of the day. The players know what they are playing for," he concluded.
Leopards' most recent encounter was also against TTM and Mwape Musonda inspired Lidoda Duvha to a 3-1 win over their Limpopo rivals.
Similarly, they head into Friday's clash knowing exactly what is up for grabs with a win to confirm their place in South Africa's top-flight.
"Our next game against Ajax Cape Town, that is where we need to wrap it up. It is not over, our main aim is to win the game, we want to control our own future," said Black Leopards co-coach Morgan Shivambu.
Musonda scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 win for Leopards in the reverse fixture earlier this month.
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