Santos edge out Ajax in Historic Derby


23 January 2010

Santos beat Ajax Cape Town 6-5 in the penalty shoot-out after the first ever game at the brand new Cape Town Stadium ended in a 0-0 draw.

Played in front of 20 000 enthusiastic fans, it was a great day for local football which saw the city's two premier teams matching each other blow for blow in what is expected to become an annual event.

For the Peoples' Team, it was their third victory of the season over the Urban Warriors, following two successive league wins this season.

Out of action for several weeks due to the current break in the league, both sides showed rustiness, although it remained a typical full-blooded Cape derby affair which saw Ajax defender Clayton Daniels red-carded just before the break.

The teams battled to find any cohesion as passes went astray, all too often in the opening minutes.

Santos relied on counter-attacking moves to keep their challenge alive and the most promising of these were a 13th minute tearaway run by striker Erwin Isaacs who was brought down on the fringe of the Ajax penalty area.

Graham King hashed the free-kick attempt by blasting the ball high over the crossbar.

Midway through the first half Santos managed to gain the upper hand in the midfield and as a result they created scoring opportunities, but they too lacked the finishing touch.

Some six minutes ahead of the break Santos lost their inspirational defender Musa Otieno who cried off with a shoulder injury. He later returned to the fray in the second half.

Despite having the extra player Santos could not drive home the advantage although they made several sorties deep into the Ajax half.

Ajax seemed content to soak up the pressure and just after the hour mark they were unable to transfer the pressure on to the Santos defence.

In the final 10 minutes of play the large number of substitutes on either side injected a sense of urgency in the contest in an effort to land the historic first goal at the 2010 World Cup Stadium.

But with marksmanship markedly missing on the field of play the historic first contest featuring the Mother City's two Premier Soccer League (PSL) teams ended in a goalless draw.

In the subsequent penalty shoot-out Santos won 6-5 and were awarded the Soccer Festival Trophy.

* Photo courtesy of Sportspics' Ron Gaunt