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Match Report: Ajax show too little, too late in season opener

	Christian Chivu's poorly taken penalty is easily saved by Roda JC goalkeeper Kalac. [source: ANP]

19 August: While next week's opponents, Feyenoord, kicked off with a 5-0 victory over Sparta in the Rotterdam city derby, Ajax continued the misery of last year (and the year before, and the year before that) in an apathetic performance in the Amsterdam ArenA, where the atmosphere has turned grim.

Last year's number four team, Roda JC, was hardly given any trouble in a game in which did not show much progress compared to last season.

And it's not exactly the season opener a team would wish: the F-Side yelling 'Co f**k off' and getting more and more frustrated about the performance of their meandering team, in which Hatem Trabelsi and Maxwell proved that the flanks of the Ajax defense are better than last season. Apart from that, Ajax looked as disorganized, as slow and as powerless upfront. No wonder, then, that Co Adriaanse is under fire in the Dutch media and seems to get worried about his position, with elimination by Celtic and the first clash with Feyenoord coming up. The coach, normally a self-assured advocate of a strict 4-3-3 system, keeps nervously shifting his players and changing the team's system.

After having experimented with a defensive 5-3-2 system against AS Roma and a suicidal 4-2-4 against Celtic, Sunday's line-up consisted of four defenders (with André Bergdölmo back in the team), plus an extra defender (Yakubu) playing in midfield. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ajax' multi-million dollar new signing who played and scored throughout the preparation campaign, was on the bench.

Shota Arveladze was in the team, but remained invisible for the large part of the game. Nikos Machlas did much better as a substitute, while Zlatan was more dangerous during the five minutes he played than Arveladze had been during 85 minutes before. Mido was giving one hopeless cross after another from the left flank, whereas right winger Cedric van der Gun came into scoring position exactly once: in the 7th minute, Roda goalkeeper Kalac was forced to grab his legs in the penalty box. Cristian Chivu's penalty attempt was so weak that Kalac saved without difficulty. The rebound however, was for Van der Gun, providing Chivu a second tip-in chance he could not miss. Quite amazingly, he did.

Ajax' play looked okay in the first twenty minutes. No-one knows how the game would have developed if Chivu would have scored, since Roda JC was powerless up front and did not seem to have offensive intentions whatsoever. An early goal could have forced them to change plans, but the facts are that Chivu missed and Ajax hardly created any danger during the remaining 83 minutes against a Roda defense which was well-organized, but should definitely not be a problem for a championship's candidate in a home game.

Roda's only chance was a curving long distance volley by Greek striker Yannis Anastasiou, which was well saved by Grim.

Ajax created its first real chance early in the second half, as Yakubu launched Van der Vaart with a smart thru-pass, but the midfielder just failed in lifting the ball over Kalac. A similar attack led to Ajax' only goal of the game, but that did not happen until the struggling Amsterdammers had conceded a Nygaard header goal from a corner kick (78), seeing the guests take a 0-1 lead. Roda JC had shown too little to actually deserve that 0-1 lead, but Ajax' performance was so poor that they deserved to go a goal down.

It was enormously annoying to the 33,117 at the ArenA that Ajax suddenly started playing in a higher gear: the midfielders started running, Grim started passionately coaching his defenders and all of a sudden, ball circulation went faster. It is truly amazing that the team could apparently not motivate itself to play like that for 90 minutes, or at least one half. A Roda goal was required to convince Ajax of the fact that it all begins with determination.

The equalizer was there five minutes later. Nikos Machlas beautifully curled the ball over Roda's defense; Van der Vaart was there to finish: 1-1 (83).

The remaining seven minutes of Ajax fury (with Zlatan and Machlas both playing better than Arveladze did earlier) were too little and - even more so - too late. Disappointing, especially because - despite the poor play - beating Roda JC would have been as easy as finishing a penalty kick and working hard for a little longer than ten minutes. Instead, Adriaanse and his Ajax had a frustrating and disappointing dress-rehearsal for the Celtic and Feyenoord games, coming up next. We don't have to underline that things will have to change if Ajax want to make anything substantial out of those games. (MP)

GOALS

• 78' 0-1 Mark Nygaard
• 83' 1-1 Rafaël van der Vaart

Referee: Luinge
Yellow cards: Kalac, Sonkaya (Roda JC)
Attendance: 33,117

Line-up Ajax: Grim; Trabelsi, Bergd¢lmo, Chivu, Maxwell; Yakubu, Knopper (64. Machlas), Van der Vaart; Van der Gun (83. Ibrahimovic), Arveladze, Mido (64. Wamberto).

Line-up Roda JC: Kalac; Senden (46. Nygaard), Vrede, Vandenbroeck (88. Tomasic), Luijpers; Lachambe, Van Dessel, Berglund, Sonkaya; Soetaers (72. Lawal), Anastasiou.

Related Links:

• Ajax USA profile: Roda JC
• Discussion: Ajax current form