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Match Report:

Ajax
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Nijmegen
Sunday 01 April

We sure wish this was an April Fools Day joke. Just one week after their stunning 9-0 victory over Sparta, Ajax lost 1-0 in disgraceful fashion at NEC. The worst performance of the year, right after the best one. Such a dramatic lack of consistency seems almost impossible, but Ajax fans know it's not. In fact, non-performances at unexpected moments are not even surprising anymore.

The story of NEC vs Ajax is short and simple: Ajax did not create one single scoring chance, conceded one goal because of indecisive defending and, after that, completely lacked the ingenuity, determination and physical power to fight back.

Ajax did not only lose three points in Nijmegen. The team also lost its key defender when Cristian Chivu pulled up lame from an apparent re-aggrivation of his hamstring injury. And it lost its self-esteem, which would have been a precious thing in the upcoming clash with soon-to-be Dutch champions PSV. And perhaps most annoying, the Amsterdammers sqandered a second opportunity in two weeks to close in on Feyenoord, who lost again, this time to RKC.

NEC was physically superior, in a game which made clear that Ajax depends too heavily on the performances of youngsters such as Rafaël van der Vaart, Cedric van der Gun and Petri Pasanen. They have been revelations at times, but seemed listless and worn-out at De Goffert Stadium.

Typically, Kwame Quansah, in his Ajax-1 debut, came closest to scoring with a volley that went a couple of yards wide. NEC's goalkeeper, Gentenaar, was not forced to make any real saves throughout the game. A late Andy van der Meyde shot - or was it a cross? - was easy prey for him as well.

NEC did not create many chances either, making for a horribly boring spectacle, but they were always the more dangerous team. De Gier and Hristov missed clear header chances. The latter seemed to take full of advantage of Chivu's substitution. His new opponent, Abubakari Yakubu, was too late in his very first duel with Hristov and was lucky that the Macedonian's shot went over the cross-bar.

Hristov sustained an injury after some ten minutes in the second half, but before he left the pitch, he did what he was hired for: scoring. No Ajax midfielder was there to stop his rather slow run, and defenders De Cler and Vierklau seemed content to watch as Hristov pushed the ball under Fred Grim (58).

There was no such thing as an Ajax offensive in the remainder of the game. NEC's midfielder Schulz came closest to scoring again, and it's significant that young débutant Kiran Bechan (replacing the injured Wamberto) was the only Ajax striker to at least try something. Andy van der Meyde miserably failed at the right wing, producing not one useful cross. And last week's man of four goals, Shota Arveladze, was invisible throughout.

After the game, coach Co Adriaanse pointed out that many of his players returned injured from their duties with their national teams, and that almost all of them saw their country lose. It could be a factor, but it's definitely not sufficient to explain Ajax' painful black-out in Nijmegen.

Ajax grabbed one, but lost five points in its two games against NEC, in which they did not score a goal. The apathy, the listlessness and the lack of detemination and creativity is worrying, one week before PSV comes to Amsterdam ArenA. Ajax are unbeaten at home this season. In fact, they have not lost a league game in the Arena since 18 March, 2000. PSV threaten to break that streak, unless the "other" Ajax turns up. (MP)

GOAL
  • 58' 1-0 Gorgi Hristov
Referee: Bossen
Yellow cards: De Gier (NEC), Yakubu (Ajax)
Attendance: 12,500
Line-up Ajax: Grim; Vierklau, Chivu (41. Yakubu), Pasanen, De Cler; Galásek, Van der Vaart; Van der Meyde, Arveladze, Bechan (73. Quansah).
Line-up NEC: Gentenaar; Collen, Hesp, Wisgerhof, Leiwakabessy; Van Rijswijk, Latuheru, Schulz, Zonneveld; Hristov (66. Schulp), De Gier (84. Ax).

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