Derby stalemate as referee upsets Cape sides

Referee Thabo Nkosi made two crucial calls at Athlone Stadium on Thursday night which could yet impact on the destination of the Absa Premiership trophy.

Ajax Cape Town and Santos drew 1-1 in a rousing derby, but the result could have gone either way as first the pedantic official ruled out what seemed like a legitimate Nathan Paulse goal on the hour mark and minutes later turned a blind eye when Santos striker Romano Scott was hacked down inside the Ajax penalty area.

Nkosi had a busy night all round, flashing no fewer than nine yellow cards as the teams threw everything bar the kitchen sink at each other.

The result left Ajax three points behind leaders SuperSport United, who now only need a draw in their final match against Bloemfontein Celtic on Sunday to lift the coveted Championship.

The Urban Warriors did, however, make sure of playing in next season's Champions League, a massive achievement for rookie coach Craig Rosslee.

Santos dropped to fourth after Mamelodi Sundowns moved up a slot with their 1-0 victory over Platinum Stars.

Rosslee and Santos counterpart David Bright expressed disappointment with the referee's overall performance.

"I would love to see the (Paulse) goal on tape, because no one saw anything wrong before or at the point of contact," said Rosslee. "That was a huge call, but then we had enough chances to win the match with something to spare."

Bright lamented the referee's ignorance of the Scott incident, although match officials "are only human".

"It's human to err, but the ref made crucial mistakes which cost us dearly," he said.

"The penalty was definitely on. But I must add that we will slip out of the top four if we continue to miss easy scoring opportunities."

Ajax were first to show a semblance of a game plan with swift attacks down the right flank via diminutive playmaker Mkhanyiseli Siwahla.

The South African under-23 star has not scored many goals this season, but there can be no doubting his ability to play in strikers with telling crosses - as confirmed by Dipsey Selolwane's ninth-minute strike.

However, the Urban Warriors committed defensive suicide on 33 minutes to concede their now customary soft goal. Erwin Isaacs was allowed space to get the ball to Eleazar Rodgers, who beat sprawled goalkeeper Hans Vonk.