Prince Nxumalo struck in the dying minutes to see Ajax Cape Town defeat Chippa United 1-0 in an Absa Premiership match at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday.
Ajax started strongly and created chances in the opening minutes for Mosa Lebusa and Ndiviwe Mdabuka, but neither was able to test Chippa goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi.
The Urban Warriors bossed the game through the first half and must have wondered how they went to the break with the scores still level as Akpeyi was called upon to make superb saves to keep out shots from Prince Nxumalo and Grant Margeman.
The Chilli Boys threatened only sporadically in the first half, with their best moment arriving just over 10 minutes before the break when a deflected header from Ajax defender Roscoe Pietersen forced Jody February into a sharp save.
Ajax picked up in the second half where they left off in the first and 10 minutes after the restart Thabo Mosadi cut inside and unleashed a powerful effort which forced Akpeyi into another fine save.
The match looked to be destined for a goalless stalemate, but the deadlock was finally broken in the 88th minute when Nxumalo provided a chipped finish from Travis Graham’s through ball to seal the victory for the Urban Warriors.
The result takes Ajax to eighth place on the log standings with 18 points from 15 matches, while Chippa drop to 11th with 16 points from 14 matches.