Ajax Cape Town coach Muhsin Ertugral has praised the influence of Matthew Booth ahead of Wednesday’s crunch North-South derby with Kaizer Chiefs.

Booth was outstanding against Chippa United over the weekend, holding the Urban Warriors defence together as they held on for a point after Abia Nale was sent off with 25 minutes to go.

With Ajax battling tooth and nail to survive the drop, Booth’s performance is exactly what Ertugral is looking for in the last three matches.

“I was very pleased with Matthew; he was playing with 11 stitches (after a collision with Benjani Mwaruwari). Having such a player makes me very happy, because he has the character and the heart.

“I was talking about it with my chairman; we were saying that if there were five Matthew Booths in South Africa, Bafana Bafana would be doing so much better. It was because of him that we survived.

“The experienced player’s though can still be more responsible without the ball. The players have understood the message and we’re improving day by day,” he added.

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