THOHOYANDOU – Moneeb Josephs was Ajax Cape Town's hero, when he saved two penalties and clinched a place for his club in the semi-final stage of the Coca-Cola Cup. Ajax beat Leopards 3-1 in an entertaining match played at a packed Thohoyandou Stadium on Saturday.

Leopards took the game to their opponents from the onset, but were let down by the poor finishing of their strikers. They came close to scoring in the 15th minute, when their Swaziland international, Sibusiso Dlamini, shot wide from close range.

The scoreboard was still blank when the referee, Mr Sipho Masondo, blew the final whistle after a tough contest of 120 minutes. Rowen Hendricks, the Ajax left right flank went into Masondo's book for protesting against his (Masondo's) decision in the 25th minute.

Leopards replaced the injured Godfrey Ramudzuli with Johannes Nkande. The Capetonians responded by introducing Junaid Hartley for Edzai Kasinauyo a little later. Brett Evans was cautioned for bringing down Dlamini.

At that stage the game was 67 minutes old. The Leopards' coach, Augustine Makalakalane, played Rudzani Ramudzuli to the finish despite pleas by the club's fans for his immediate replacement. The winner was determined through a penalty shoot-out.

The only penalty scored for the home side was slotted in by Wonder Nhleko while Helder Muinga, Fernando Matola and Duncan Lechesa all missed. Ajax managed to convert three of their five chances through Orlin Powell, Junaid Hartley and Brent Carelse. Robert Nauseb and Nathan Paulse's shots went astray.