Gavin Hunt concedes his Wits side will have to be vigilant when they face Ajax on Sunday.
|||Johannesburg – Gavin Hunt concedes his Bidvest Wits side will have to be extra vigilant at the back if they are to come out on top in today’s MTN8 second leg semi-final clash against Ajax Cape Town at Bidvest Stadium (3pm).
The Wits coach said he hadpaid special attention to his opponents during their first-leg 1-1 draw a fortnight ago.
After that performance, Ajax went on to win two of their Absa Premiership fixtures, beating Maritzburg United (3-1) and Free State Stars (2-1), building up to today’s clash.
Wits, on the other hand, bounced back from a humiliating 4-2 defeat against Mamelodi Sundowns, following their draw with Ajax, to beat the Team of Choice 2-0 on home turf.
But Hunt goes into this match with the knowledge that Ajax are a side that can be beaten.
They’ve done it before in their opening match of this season.
The Urban Warriors were subjected to a 2-1 defeat a few weeks ago at the very same venue.
Hence the 51-year-old coach believes his side can produce a result and book their place in the finals.
“We are looking forward to it,” Hunt said.
“They are a tough side to crack and they made it difficult for us in our previous game, but we are ready.
“Hopefully we’ll break them down this time around.
“We’ve been watching them very closely and they’ve shown great improvement in their previous two games.
“So it is crucial not to underestimate them.
“Sure, we’ve beaten them before but history won’t have any influence on today’s match.
“(Ajax coach) Roger de Sa has done an extremely good job with his boys and they’ll be raring to go.
“We just need to be tactically disciplined and we’ll be just fine,” he added.
Meanwhile, Hunt is over the moon about the fact that five of his players have been called up to the Bafana Bafana squad, saying Wits must be doing something right as a professional club playing in the elite league.
The Braamfontein outfit have the biggest representation of players in the current Bafana squad who will be travelling to Mauritania for their second match in Group M of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The five Wits players called to Shakes Mashaba’s national squad are: Sibusiso Vilakazi, Jabulani Shongwe, Siyabonga Nhlapo, Thulani Hlatshwayo and Phumlani Ntshangase.
“I’m proud of the boys,” Hunt said.
“They’ve done extremely well and they deserve to be called up to the national set-up.
“It goes to show that we are doing something right as a club and that’s a good thing.
“We wish them all the best.”
– The Sunday Independent
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