Ajax pin hopes on young heroes

01 September 2015 - 02:03 By Tshepang Mailwane

Roger de Sa believes Bafana Bafana would be much better if more clubs in the PSL gave youngsters a chance to prove themselves and gain experience in the big league. De Sa's Ajax Cape Town youngsters beat Bidvest Wits 2-1 on aggregate on Sunday to reach the MTN8 final, just three months after losing on penalties to Mamelodi Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup final in Port Elizabeth."We have 10 players from our own academy playing in a semifinal of a cup. Can you imagine if every club in the country did that? Where would Bafana be? You've got to throw the kids in and hope they can do the business. So far so good, but we have a long way to go," De Sa said."When I arrived, Rivaldo [Coetzee] was 17 and he had a lot of weaknesses. I look at him now and I honestly can't see a better centre-back in this country. Our back line is just under-23s, which is good for us."The Urban Warriors will face defending champions Kaizer Chiefs in the final on September 19. De Sa believes his boys have a good chance of winning the competition after knocking out Wits and Orlando Pirates."[Chiefs] are champions and they are a tough side to beat, no matter where you play them."We have another opportunity to have a go and have a good time, and who knows? We have as equal a chance as Chiefs."I don't think many gave us a chance to beat Wits and not many gave us a chance against Pirates in the quarters. We now go into cup competitions believing we can do something."De Sa is pleased that he will be working with winger Asive Langwe, a player he knows from his time at Wits. The Urban Warriors have also completed a deal to sign Abel Mabaso on loan from Sundowns."We are getting Abel on a loan deal with an option to buy. It's the same with Langwe."Langwe will get Riyaad Norodien playing a lot better. You need that competition in the team."..

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