Written by The Caretaker Coach for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!
Bidvest Wits vs Ajax Cape Town | Sunday 30 August | Bidvest Stadium | 15:00
Of the two sides battling out the second semi-final, only Wits featured in this competition last year, getting knocked out at the same stage to Pirates. Ajax had a shocker of a season prior, not even qualifying. The sides meet in the second leg after a 1-1 draw in Cape Town earlier this month. Wits host this time in what should be the more closely fought of the two semi-finals.
To Win (90mins)
Bidvest Wits 13/20
Draw 23/10
Ajax Cape Town 4/1
Bidvest Wits
The last time Wits were victorious, in what is technically South Africa’s oldest cup competition, was all the way back in 1995. Twenty years later and they have a good chance to put themselves into contention carrying an away goal advantage into the second leg of this semi-final. The first leg played out in tense fashion, with Wits getting their valuable goal after trailing for over an hour. Star talisman, Henrico Botes, was on hand to deliver, and they’ll be relying on him to do much the same on Sunday afternoon. Both sides have started their seasons well, sitting second and third in the PSL table. Crucially, Wits beat an almost identical Ajax side in the opening weekend of the league at home and a repeat of that performance will seem them into the final. Gavin Hunt’s lads squandered an early lead through Sibusiso Vilakazi, but grabbed the winner in the 76th, giving them the three points. This will be a psychological draw card for the hosts come kickoff and something they will without a doubt use in their favour to ensure qualification to an R8 million purse.
Ajax Cape Town
Having sat out last year’s MTN8 due to a near-relegation experience in the 2013/14 PSL season, Ajax will be happy to find themselves in contention for a cup final this time around. Conceding a first half lead at home would have been a disappoint to the team, and being the visitors this time around means they’ll need to put up a dominant performance to get through the second leg. Wits can afford for this to end in stalemate, so Ajax will need to set up aggressively from the word go to ensure a fair contest is made of this. Two wins from their opening three in the league, and averaging two goals a game will give them confidence that they can go to the university and triumph in the face of adversity. Their solitary loss this season coming from the exact ground and opponents they’re visiting on Sunday cannot affect the task at hand, and Roger De Sa will need to rework their away strategy to prevent a similar result from occurring.
VERDICT: Draw 23/10
Whether Wits or Ajax progress, we are sure to be entertained royally in this second leg semi-final. Ajax will come out with the intention to score, they have to, and I’m sure Wits are well aware of this. With both side in with a shout we could see this fixture going to extra time. Remember betting on the outright doesn’t cover in the event that added time is needed, and with both these sides so evenly matched, I wouldn’t be surprised if we even go as far as penalties. It just wouldn’t be a weekend in South African cup football if we didn’t see a game go past the ninety minutes and for that reason I’m heading for the draw here at a healthy 23/10. The bookies have Wits priced up at 13/20; too short for my liking, so I’m throwing the Hail Mary here and predicting a stalemate within the allotted ninety minutes.
