Vuvuzela South Africa

At Half-time the Orlando Stadium was in the dark , then the the Lamontville Golden Arrows lit up the Soweto night with their 6-0 drubbing of Ajax Cape Town in the MTN8 Wafa Wafa Finals.

The goals were scored by a Njabulo Manqana brace, Richard Henyekane, Thokozani Msheng, Nhlanhla Zothwane and an own goal from unfortunate Ajax defender Deniss Ivanovs. (The score could look more like a cricket score if not for some great saves by veteran goalkeeper Hans Vonk).

Golden Arrows 2-0 Ahead at Half-Time

At half-time, with Golden Arrows 2-0 ahead, the power failed  that led to a 55-minute long delay.  This is really a disgrace, especially in a Cup Final with R8 million at stake.

From the kick off Manqoba Mngqithi’s men looked like they had fire in their hearts and eThekwini-power in their boots as they showed a determination to bring the silverware back home.

Golden Arrows’ Expansive Play

They launched into the attacking football that has been to the club’s detriment at times. And it was clear Golden Arrows’ expansive play had Ajax on the back foot. These are perfect conditions for Henyekane to start breaking through it everyone knows that it is just a matter of time before the ball off his boot will connect with the back of the net.

The Urban Warriors’ only real chance of the first half was well saved by Helton Da Rocha, who tipped Nhlanhla Shabalala’s header over the bar.

Richard Henyekane Scores

This opportunity came shortly after the restart when the fired up Abafana Bes’thende dominated the field and Richard Henyekane added a third from close-range in the 49th minute.

On the stroke of full-time Manqana dinked past Derek Descamps and chipped the ball past Vonk from a tight angle for his second goal of the night to complete a glorious night for Abafana Bes’thende and a nightmare for Hans Vonk and the Urban Warriors.

MTN8 Wafa Wafa Finals Winner

This means that Golden Arrows win the MTN8 Wafa Wafa Finals and bring back the cup to KwaZulu Natal – oh and don’t forget the check for R8 million.

Man of the Match – Njabulo Manqana

Golden Arrows’ Njabulo Manqana was named man of the match following Arrows emphatic 6-0 win over Ajax Cape Town in the MTN 8 Final.

Lamontville Golden Arrows 6
Ajax Cape Town 0

Arrows Goals: Manqana 9, Ivanovs 20(og), Henyekane 49, Mshengu 66, Zothwane 73, Manqana 90

Photo: Golden Arrows’ Njabulo Manqana soccerladuma.co.za

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Ajax Cape Town have announced the appointment of Foppe de Haan as their new head coach following the departure of Muhsin Ertugral for Turkish Super League side Sivasspor.

The Right Man for the Urban Warriors

Urban Warriors CEO George Comitis revealed in a statement on Thursday afternoon: “After a long deliberation and thorough analysis of all the applications that we have received, we believe that we have found the right man to steer us forward.” Reports football 365.co.za

Foppe de Haan (66) has experienced much success as the former coach of Dutch SC Heerenveen and the Netherlands national under-21 team. He brought SC Heerenveen back to the Eredivisie in 1993 and managed to reach second place in the Dutch Premier Division, “de Eredivisie,” with Heerenveen in 2000. This led the team to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.

Head Coach of Netherlands U21 Team

Following his stint at SC Heerenveen, Foppe de Haan was successively appointed as head coach of the Netherlands national under-21 football team. He led the team to victory in the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

In 2008 he coached the Dutch team to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics football tournament for the first time in their history, leading his side to the quarterfinals where they were ultimately defeated by Argentina after extra time.

“Mr de Haan will be arriving tomorrow evening and will remain with Ajax Cape Town until after the MTN8 Cup Final after which he will return to Holland to tie-up his business affairs before returning to South Africa. He will start officially in November and remain until the end of the season by which time we will have decided on the way forward with his input,”concluded Comitis.

Photo: Foppe de Haan, football356.co.za

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Muhsin Ertugral has quit Ajax Cape Town. Urban Warriors CEO George Comitis said that the Turkish-born coach is leaving for  Sivasspor, which finished second behind Besiktas in the Turkish League last year.

In the interim, Jan Pruijn will oversee the team over the next couple of weeks until they announce a new Head Coach.

Photo: Mushin Ertugral

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This was a high scoring weekend of excitement and upsets at the ABSA Premiership around South Africa – seven goals were scored on Sunday.

Sunday Matches in the ABSA Premiership

Ajax Cape Town 0 – Kaizer Chiefs 3

Kaizer Chiefs showed their class once again at Newlands Stadium on Sunday afternoon when they beat Ajax Cape Town 3-0. Fortunately for them their supporters behaved this time, not like the previous encounter between the two sides at the same venue when Amakhosi fans behaved like true soccer hooligans when their side was unceremoniously dumped out of the MTN8 tournament by the Urban Warriors . OK, the ref was dodgy, but the violence and damage resulted  in Chiefs getting the biggest fine in PSL history.

This time it was a different Kaizer Chiefs that ran onto the pitch and lifted themselves smartly from the bottom of the PSL league. I know that the fans, who will never loose faith in their team will be on a high now, expecting  their team to perform like this for the rest of the season.

Stunning Opening Goal by Kaizer Motaung Jnr

Kaizer Motaung Jnr, who has had to endure boos and ridicule from his own team’s supporters after struggling to find form this season, started Chiefs’ dramatic return to form with a stunning volleyed opening goal in the 29th minute that made keeper Hans Vonk looking like he was standing still, waiting for a taxi.

The other goals were scored by Thabang Rooi and Nkosinathi Nhleko, as the visiting side enjoyed superiority throughout the match.

In fairness to the Cape Town side, however, it needs to be pointed out that the Urban Warriors have a contingent of five players currently in Egypt with the South African team at the World Under-20 championships and some others on suspension.

Bidvest Wits – Jomo Cosmos 1

Bidvest Wits fortunes in the PSL continued to soar after they beat struggling Jomo Cosmos 3-1 in a hard fought clash at Milpark on Sunday.

Clever Boys Great Season Continues

The win sees the Clever Boys enjoy one of the best starts to a Premier Soccer League season.

Coach Roger De Sa’s men are in second spot with the same points as Bloemfontein Celtic – 17 points from their nine)fixtures, only two adrift of leaders Orlando Pirates. (Wits have a better goal difference than Celtic).

Fabricio Rodrigues, Calvin Kadi and Marawaan Bantam scored for the Students, while Koena Mathopa countered for Ezenkosi.

Saturday Matches Absa Premier Leagues

SuperSport United 1 Golden Arrows 1

SuperSport United and Golden Arrows  drew 1-1 at the Super Stadium on Saturday night.  It was Arrows’ seventh draw in 10 league fixtures played so far this season and the result ended United’s three match winning streak

Free State Stars 0 – Orlando Pirates 0

Free State Stars managed to hold league leaders Orlando Pirates to a 0-0 draw at the Charles Mopeli Stadium on Saturday.

Bloemfontein Celtic 2 – Platinum Stars 1

Bloemfontein Celtic continued their impressive unbeaten run by claiming the three points from their encounter with Platinum Stars at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Saturday evening.

AmaZulu FC 2 – 1  Moroka Swallows

Check out the 2009/2010 Log

Photo: Kaizer Motaung Jnr - Kickoff

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Two midweek matches take place to kick off Gameweek 9 in the PSL ABSA Premiership. AmaZulu will play Golden Arrows in a local derby at the Chatsworth Stadium in Durban and Ajax Cape Town will travel to the Royal Bafokeng Stadium to meet Platinum Stars.

AmaZulu v Golden Arrows

Wednesday night at the wet Chatsworth Stadium is a good night for a local derby as AmaZulu will be looking to avenge the two defeats they suffered at the hands of Golden Arrows in the MTN8.
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Usuthu were beaten by their neighbours twice in the space of six days in the cup and now have the chance make up for the losses and gain some vital points in the process.

On the AmaZulu website, Coach Neil Tovey says he is hopeful of a better showing from his troops on Wednesday evening.

“We have had a chat with the players – the whole technical team in trying to iron out the negativity. I believe the talk came out well and will benefit the team.

“Going into the derby, we know we need to work to collectively for the club. We have been playing good football lately, except for Sunday’s match, now we just need to convert that into points.

Platinum Stars v Ajax Cape Town

Platinum Stars will take their bow at the newly-renovated and FIFA World Cup training venue, Moruleng Stadium on Wednesday night as they welcome Ajax Cape Town for a crucial Absa Premiership clash. The Tycoons and The Urban Warriors will be looking to secure a three-point haul for very different reasons tonight.

The Tycoons are struggling at the wrong end of the table and are in desperate need of a win, while the Urban Warriors have the chance to move into second place.

There is positive news on the injury front for Coach Steve Komphela, who has defender Oscar Ntwagae and striker Simba Marumo in his squad for the game.

Ajax Have a Player Crisis

Ajax, meanwhile, have something of player crises with injuries, suspensions, and absentees on international duty with the Under-20 side at the World Cup in Egypt seriously limiting their squad.

“We did not have ten players against Sundowns and the players who were there represented the club very well and we managed to win away from home. The players were confident and everyone who wears the Ajax jersey does so with pride and responsibility,” Coach Muhsin Ertugral said.

Ertugral added that he is happy to continue playing the games at the moment rather than having postponements that will leave him with fixture congestion later in the campaign.

Both Matches kick off at 19.30

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