Ajax Cape Town striker Nathan Paulse says that the team will have continue to work hard as a team to improve on their performances.
In their opening Absa Premiership match of the season, the Urban Warriors had to settle for a 1-1 draw with newly-promoted side Baroka at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Paulse was on hand to score a penalty after he was brought down in the box in the ninth minute, however, Baroka midfielder Richard Matloga found an equaliser five minutes into the second half.
The 34-year-old insists that his side got off to a positive start, however, he insists that Ajax did not follow through with the performance.
‘We started the game very well. The first 20 minutes we were in complete control, we could’ve scored two or three goals early on. We scored a vital goal, but we didn’t follow through with our performance after the opening 20 minutes,’ Paulse told the Ajax Cape Town website.
Paulse admits that after scoring the opening goal the newly-promoted side controlled the match and eventually scoring the equalising goal to level matters.
He continued to say that Ajax had good opportunities to put the game to bed but he believes that Baroka played ‘without fear’ and it costed his side the match and two points.
‘I promised myself a goal, so I’m happy to have scored. They took control of the game eventually and created a few chances of their own until later on in the match,’ he added.
‘It’s always difficult to have a journey like this in your opening game of the season. Also, playing against the new boys will always be difficult because they play without fear. We weren’t able to capitalise at the end of the day, so it feels like two points lost for us.’
The former SuperSport United striker says he now has his sights set on working hard and helping the team improve ahead of their next Absa Premiership match against Orlando Pirates at Cape Town Stadium.
‘We’ll work on things in the coming weeks because it’s a while until we play again. With a bit more work we’ll be able to gel better and give an improved performance in our next match,’ the striker concluded.
Last season for the Urban Warriors, Paulse has scored eight goals and has featured 23 times in all competitions, while helping his side clinch the MTN8 title in the final against Kaizer Chiefs.
Kick-off has been set for 19:30.
