Cape Town - Nathan Paulse scored a late penalty to see Ajax Cape Town claim a 1-0 win over Golden Arrows in an Absa Premiership match on Saturday night.
The result at the Athlone Stadium means the Urban Warriors have now won three successive matches and appear to have put their early-season struggles behind them.
Ajax had the first notable effort on goal, with Thabo Mosadi’s shot in the 10th minute forcing Arrows goalkeeper Nkosingiphile Gumede into a sharp save.
The visitors’ goal-minder had a busy first quarter of the game, as he also kept out efforts from Mark Mayambela, Ndiviwe Mdabuka and Prince Nxumalo, while Urban Warriors captain Travis Graham also shot agonisingly wide.
With just under 10 minutes of the first half remaining, Ajax had another chance when Mayambela had a glancing free kick from Bantu Mzwakali’s free kick, but again Gumede was on hand to keep Arrows on level terms.
The Durban side upped their game after the break and tested Jody February for the first time just before the hour mark, with the goalkeeper called into action to keep out a shot from Kagisho Dikgacoi.
With Ajax looking to reinvigorate their attack, they introduced lanky striker Paulse off the bench with just under 20 minutes to play and he made a strong impact on the game.
The substitute broke the deadlock in favour of the Urban Warriors in the 85th minute, converting a penalty awarded for hand-ball by Siyabonga Dube - it proved to be the decisive moment of the match, turning it in favour of the home side.
The victory takes the Urban Warriors up to 10th place on the log with 12 points from as many matches, while Arrows drop to sixth place on 18 points from 12 outings in the league.
Ajax Cape Town (0) 1 (Paulse 85’ pen)
Golden Arrows 0
Ajax: February, Isaacs, Coetzee, Lartey, Lebusa, Mdabuka, Graham, Mosadi, Mayambela (Margeman 86’), Mzwakali (Morris 90’), Nxumalo (Paulse 71’)
Arrows: Gumede, S. Dube, Mzava, Mngwengwe, Phiri, Cele, Bilankulu, Fikizolo, Dikgacoi (Mathiane 79’), Jooste (Mahachi 90’), Lamola (Barrios 79’)
The result at the Athlone Stadium means the Urban Warriors have now won three successive matches and appear to have put their early-season struggles behind them.
Ajax had the first notable effort on goal, with Thabo Mosadi’s shot in the 10th minute forcing Arrows goalkeeper Nkosingiphile Gumede into a sharp save.
The visitors’ goal-minder had a busy first quarter of the game, as he also kept out efforts from Mark Mayambela, Ndiviwe Mdabuka and Prince Nxumalo, while Urban Warriors captain Travis Graham also shot agonisingly wide.
With just under 10 minutes of the first half remaining, Ajax had another chance when Mayambela had a glancing free kick from Bantu Mzwakali’s free kick, but again Gumede was on hand to keep Arrows on level terms.
The Durban side upped their game after the break and tested Jody February for the first time just before the hour mark, with the goalkeeper called into action to keep out a shot from Kagisho Dikgacoi.
With Ajax looking to reinvigorate their attack, they introduced lanky striker Paulse off the bench with just under 20 minutes to play and he made a strong impact on the game.
The substitute broke the deadlock in favour of the Urban Warriors in the 85th minute, converting a penalty awarded for hand-ball by Siyabonga Dube - it proved to be the decisive moment of the match, turning it in favour of the home side.
The victory takes the Urban Warriors up to 10th place on the log with 12 points from as many matches, while Arrows drop to sixth place on 18 points from 12 outings in the league.
Ajax Cape Town (0) 1 (Paulse 85’ pen)
Golden Arrows 0
Ajax: February, Isaacs, Coetzee, Lartey, Lebusa, Mdabuka, Graham, Mosadi, Mayambela (Margeman 86’), Mzwakali (Morris 90’), Nxumalo (Paulse 71’)
Arrows: Gumede, S. Dube, Mzava, Mngwengwe, Phiri, Cele, Bilankulu, Fikizolo, Dikgacoi (Mathiane 79’), Jooste (Mahachi 90’), Lamola (Barrios 79’)