AJAX Cape Town's late win over Kaizer Chiefs on Wednesday night did not only shake things up at the top of the Absa Premiership log but could have major ramifications at the bottom end.

So too Chippa United's win over Orlando Pirates the night before.

It is clear the Cape teams are fighting to the death.

What Ajax earned along with the vital three points, was confidence, which they will need for their final two games against KwaZulu-Natal sides Maritzburg United and Lamontville Golden Arrows.

Black Leopards, who flirted with danger for so long, now find themselves at the foot of the log and on a downward spiral. Looking at their next fixtures, they are the leading candidates for automatic relegation.

Leopards were bludgeoned 4-0 by AmaZulu in Durban on Wednesday, a fifth defeat in six games.

Lidoda Duvha looked dazed after falling 2-0 behind after six minutes and things got worse when midfielder Djunga Munganga was sent off in the first-half in which they conceded three goals to the league's least-effective attacking team.

That Bongani Ndulula, who has looked more like a Sharks prop forward than a striker since his January arrival from Pirates, managed to net twice was proof of how poor Leopards were.

"We played badly. We conceded goals in a disappointing way, so we'll have to get back to the drawing board to fight in the next three games," coach Abel Makhubela said afterwards.

Leopards must put the break for the Nedbank Cup weekend to good use if they are to take points from Mamelodi Sundowns, Bucs and Free State Stars, in what is undoubtedly the toughest run-in of the bottom three teams.

All the twists in the relegation plot are building to an epic final round, when AmaZulu host Chippa United and Ajax host Arrows, who are not yet completely in the clear.