Ajax Cape Town will travel to Polokwane City when they battle it out in the Telkom Knockout Cup at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday.
This will be the first-ever cup meeting between Polokwane City and Ajax Cape Town. They first met in the league in the 2013/14 season.
Ajax have been largely dominant in the matches played to date. Of the nine games they have won five, to go with just a single victory for City and three draws. Ajax have outscored their opponents 14-9.
City’s only victory came in their very first meeting when they claimed a 2-0 success in Polokwane, thanks to goals from Thapelo Tshilo and Sphesihle Nzimande.
In matches in Polokwane between the two, Ajax have won two, City one and there has been a single draw. The last time they played in Limpopo was in February, with the match finishing in a 1-1 draw.
The teams have already played this season, with Ajax winning 2-0 at home after a brace of goals for Prince Nxumalo on September 15.
City have one of the form players in the league in their ranks, with striker Rodney Ramagalela netting six goals in 10 starts so far this season, making him the leading scorer in the PSL.
City are still searching for their first victory in the Telkom Knockout, with all four previous seasons ending in first-round exits.
To be fair to the club, they have always had very difficult draws in the opening stage. In 2003 they lost 3-0 to Kaizer Chiefs, while the following season they were edged 2-1 by Orlando Pirates. They then lost by the same scoreline to SuperSport United in 2015, and last year went down 2-0 to Mamelodi Sundowns.
In all cup matches since the club was formed in 2010 after purchasing the status of Port Elizabeth-based Bay United, Polokwane have played 18 matches, won six, drawn one and lost 11.
Ajax have exited in the first round in five of the last seven seasons. When they did make it past the first stage, they were ousted in the quarterfinals. It means the side has just two Telkom Knockout wins in their last 10 games – defeating Free State Stars in 2011 (3-1) and Mpumalanga Black Aces in 2014 (3-0).
Ajax have been involved in five penalty shoot-outs in the competition in the past, winning four of those. Their only defeat was to SuperSport United in the first round in 2012.
Polokwane City against Ajax Cape Town kicks off at 15:30.
Photo: Chris Ricco/BackpagePix
