Williams Mkhize

Central Defender - Ajax Cape Town
2 Jan 2027
Saturday
Process

Marked for Williams Mkhize

22 Edition

The Ajax Cape Town Post

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Ramahlwe Mphela runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 47. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Nowhere to hide for Ajax Cape Town

0‑3 against Free State Stars, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

Squad

Dean Phiri keeps Ajax Cape Town in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Market

Alianza Lima come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Ajax Cape Town did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Squad

Mandla Mahlangu in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax Cape Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Ajax Cape Town training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mpho Chabatsane is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Match

The goals have deserted Ajax Cape Town

3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Ajax Cape Town can tell you which week it ends in.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Dean Phiri

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Boardroom

Nobody left the Ajax Cape Town dressing room in a hurry

The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.

In brief

Back issues
19 Edition

The Ajax Cape Town Post

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Dean Phiri keeps Ajax Cape Town in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Match

Ajax Cape Town out of the cup

SuperSport United ended it 4‑5. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

Match

No mercy from Ajax Cape Town

University of Pretoria will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Ajax Cape Town were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.

Player ratings

Erick Vilakazi scores twice — 8.84

Two goals and a mark of 8.84 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Player ratings

A brace, and Bradley Zwane takes the afternoon — 8.54

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Bradley Zwane provided it, and the 8.54 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Player ratings

Up for the corner, and Williams Mkhize delivers — 7.30

Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Williams Mkhize scored, was marked 7.30, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.

Match

Bradley Zwane among the goals in a wild afternoon

9 goals in one match, Bradley Zwane on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Ajax Cape Town and SuperSport United.

Squad

Mpho Chabatsane falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The terraces

Ajax Cape Town supporters have found a favourite in Gift Grobler

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Gift Grobler has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

In brief

15 Edition

The Ajax Cape Town Post

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Ajax Cape Town taken apart

0‑4 to Mamelodi Sundowns, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.

Market

Dean Phiri puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Ajax Cape Town, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Dean Phiri keeps Ajax Cape Town in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Tempers go at Ajax Cape Town

Bradley Zungu was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Mpho Chabatsane falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

No hiding place for Dean Phiri

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dean Phiri, and the manager let it.

In brief

9 Edition

The Ajax Cape Town Post

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

A hiding for Ajax Cape Town

Beaten 0‑3 by Golden Arrows, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Squad

Tempers go at Ajax Cape Town

Bradley Zungu was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Mpho Chabatsane falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Match

3 matches without a goal for Ajax Cape Town

The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.

Match

No clean sheets in sight for Ajax Cape Town

4 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Andile Manyama

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

6 Edition

The Ajax Cape Town Post

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

$520.0K — a new record at Ajax Cape Town

No footballer has ever cost this club more, and the number will be read out every time he misplaces a pass for the next two years.

Market

Mandla Mokoena hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ajax Cape Town can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Ajax Cape Town

Mpho Chabatsane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

The terraces

$520.0K for Thabo Nkwana, and Ajax Cape Town supporters approve

Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Thabo Nkwana from University of Pretoria for $520.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.

Squad

Bradley Zungu falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The terraces

Ajax Cape Town supporters have found a favourite in Williams Mkhize

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Williams Mkhize has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Ramahlwe Mphela

Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Rivaldo Mabunda out for 43 days

The medical room confirms 43 days on the sidelines for Rivaldo Mabunda, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Player ratings

Williams Mkhize stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.40 on the card, and the Ajax Cape Town support went home talking about one name.

In brief

5 Edition

The Ajax Cape Town Post

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Nowhere to hide for Ajax Cape Town

0‑3 against Platinum Stars, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

Market

Themba Manyama asks to leave Ajax Cape Town

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Ajax Cape Town turn down OB for Mandla Mokoena

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Market

SuperSport United watching Kermit Ngcobo

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Ajax Cape Town have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Boardroom

Inquest at Ajax Cape Town

The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.

Squad

Mpho Chabatsane in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax Cape Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager has not finished forgetting Williams Mkhize's mistake

Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Gift Grobler

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

A costly moment from Williams Mkhize

One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Ajax Cape Town, and it is a cruel one.

In brief