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Ajax ends season with 13 goals at DWV

The 2001-2002 season has officially come to an end. The very last, perfectly unimportant friendly game of the season - an Amsterdam derby, in fact - has been played. First Class amateur club DWV from Amsterdam-North celebrated its 90th anniversary. Ajax said 'yes' to DWV's invitation to play a friendly - and finished off the season by scoring 13 goals.

The large part of Ronald Koeman's Ajax-1 squad has already left Amsterdam. Players such as Trabelsi, O'Brien, Bergdølmo, Galásek, Zlatan, Mido and Ikedia have either joined their national teams, or have already started their vacations.

The rest of the team travelled across the IJ (pronounced like the 'ij' combination in Frank Rijkaard's name), the river-like water splitting the city of Amsterdam in two.

No-one seemed to really look forward to this game. Not too many Ajax fans travelled to Sportpark Elzenhagen, and even the DWV crowd seemed indifferent: only 700 of them showed up for the game, in which DWV players Gerzon Klinker and Dennis Compier came close to notching a goal for DWV.

Of course, it was not 'North' but 'South-East' that did the scoring. After Abubakari Yakubu had made it 0-1, DWV vs Ajax became the game of Richard Knopper, the 'number ten' who was told to look out for a new club and had a try-out at English side Sunderland last week. He scored six times in what could turn out to be his very last game for Ajax. Andy van der Meyde, who did not seem tired or jetlagged after his U.S. trip with Oranje, added three.

Nice little detail: Michael Krohn-Dehli, who started the season in Ajax A1 and joined the Young Ajax squad later on, scored his first semi-official goal for Ajax-1. So did goalkeeper Joey Didulica, who stepped up and scored Ajax' 12th from the penalty spot.

Whatever.

The 2001-2002 season, which brought Ajax the 'Dutch Double', is over. Time for a vacation and some World Cup football. Ajax-1 is due back at the ArenA on Wednesday, 03 July. (MP)

(Source: Ajax.nl)

GOALS

• 07' 0-1 Abubakari Yakubu
• 11' 0-2 Richard Knopper
• 12' 0-3 Tomás Galásek
• 13' 0-4 Richard Knopper
• 26' 0-5 Richard Knopper
• 38' 0-6 Richard Knopper
• 43' 0-7 Richard Knopper
• 51' 0-8 Richard Knopper
• 62' 0-9 Andy van der Meyde
• 74' 0-10 Andy van der Meyde
• 81' 0-11 Michael Krohn-Dehli
• 84' 0-12 Joey Didulica (penalty)
• 87' 0-13 Andy van der Meyde

Referee: Oeldrich
Cards: none
Attendance: 1,164

Ajax line-up: Didulica; Vierklau, Yakubu, Chivu (46. Kras), De Cler; Van Halst, Galásek, Van der Vaart (54. Krohn-Dehli); Van der Meyde, Knopper, Wamberto.

DWV line-up: Van den Heuvel (46. Van Stappershoef); Inge (46. Volger), Semmoh (46. Compier), Smit, Zahi; Klinker, Goeman, Abercrombie, Van den Hoogen (46. Zandgrond); Purkovic (46. Rietvelt), Suvakci.

Related links 

• Ajax.nl: Match Report (in Dutch, with pictures)