Ertugral believes striker Ndoro can save Ajax Cape Town

Ajax Cape Town coach Muhsin Ertugral was full of praise for striker Tendai Ndoro after his goal on debut helped the side to a crucial 3-1 victory over fellow strugglers Platinum Stars.

Ndoro netted the third goal with a neat finish‚ but looked lively throughout the game‚ his first since arriving from Saudi Arabian side Al-Faisaly earlier this month.

“He is a player that I just admire‚ he will do very well for us‚” Ertugral said of the Zimbabwean international.

“He is the type of player‚ like Lebo Manyama in all those years‚ that I always loved.”

Ertugral says it is Ndoro’s work off the ball‚ as well as on it‚ that makes him such an asset for the side.

“He is always playing at an angle that means he will keep one of the centre-backs so occupied that he will open his backline.

"He also opens other lines and in that build-up process that we have‚ he never loses the ball when you give it to him at a certain angle.

“Going forward‚ we have seven or eight pass patterns and they still need to be perfected‚ but Tendai is a player that understands exactly how to do that.”

Ndoro hit a rich vein of scoring under Ertugral when the pair worked briefly together at Orlando Pirates last season‚ netting seven goals in nine starts‚ and the same kind of return will do much to lift Ajax away from the relegation zone.

Ndoro left Pirates for the Middle East in August last year for a reported R7-million‚ but did not settle at Al-Faisaly and is back in South African football less than six months later.

He will next be in action for Ajax in the Mother City Derby against Cape Town City on Saturday afternoon.