Ajax Cape Town head coach Muhsin Ertugral heaped praise on Mamelodi Sundowns after the Brazilians clinched the Absa Premiership title with victory over the Urban Warriors.

Downs claimed an eighth league title after defeating relegation-threatened Ajax 3-1 at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

‘I can only congratulate Sundowns, throughout the season for their performances and they are the deserved champions. I think we came good into the game, surprised them with the start,’ Ertugral told SuperSport after the game.

‘In the end, their quality came through. The running between the lines, opening spaces in the defensive lines, we didn’t have the answers for it.’

Ertugral added that Ajax were no match for Sundowns’ long balls in their build-ups.

‘We knew exactly how they were going to operate with the long balls in their build-up processes with [Hlompho] Kekana. We were no match for that. But we had a chance with Yannick [Zakri] on the bar, the closest we came to coming back.

‘Obviously, you don’t get many chances against a team like Sundowns but that was our chance. But in the end, bang. We completely fell away from the game,’ the Ajax boss concluded.

While Sundowns celebrate their title triumph, Ajax will need to pick themselves back up as they face a fight for their PSL survival as nothing more than three points will do when they come up against Kaizer Chiefs next weekend.

Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix