Coach Palmer lauds Leopards
For Black Leopards coach Ian Palmer, Sunday's Premiership victory over Ajax Cape Town was the result of a successfully implemented game plan.
Jacob Obaje struck in the dying stages of the game to hand Leopards a 1-0 win at Cape Town Stadium – their second league victory of the season –as they climbed to 10th place in the table after 10 rounds of matches.
"We came here to consolidate in the first half, to stay compact and then to attack more in the second half," said Palmer, who had taken over at the helm of the side the previous week.
"We knew that Ajax is a team that likes to play in between the lines and we had to avoid that. We had to try and get them on the break.
"It was always our plan to bring in two attacking players in the second half.
"They were comfortable coming at us because we were compact. That was the game plan and it worked for us."
Meanwhile, interim Ajax coach Jan Pruijn was left contemplating another defeat, their second of the week, in what is turning out to be a poor season for the Cape side.
It was a frustrating day for Pruijn as his side dominated the game but struggled to find a clinical edge in the final third of the field.
Pruijn urged his players to find some accuracy in getting the ball across after breaking down the flanks.
"You can work on your offensive play but if the passes from the side are not coming, where we have three players, then we have a problem," he said.
"That's what I told them at halftime. We had at least three opportunities from the wing but the crosses were not coming where our players were."
Elsewhere on Sunday, Bloemfontein Celtic beat AmaZulu 1-0 at Free State Stadium to move into the top half of the table.
On Saturday, Kaizer Chiefs defeated SuperSport United 2-1 in Polokwane to retain their four-point lead at the summit of the standings and title holders Orlando Pirates remained in second position with a 1-0 victory over Free State Stars at Orlando Stadium.
High-flying Platinum Stars defeated Wits 2-1 in Phokeng to stay in third position, while Maritzburg United edged Golden Arrows 1-0 in their KwaZulu-Natal derby in Umlazi to hold on to fourth place.
University of Pretoria held strugglers Mamelodi Sundowns, still flailing at the bottom of the log, to a 1-1 draw in Pretoria.
Moroka Swallows and Chippa United had kicked off the weekend action with a 1-1 draw in Dobsonville on Friday night.
