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Match Report: Elements in charge in 1-1 draw

On a cold, wet and windblown night at Parkstad Limburg Stadium, Ajax and Roda struggled mightily to play good football, but most often it was the elements claiming control of the game. The turning point of the match, an error by Joey Didulica, can be attributed in part to the swirling winds and constant rain. However, one also has to fault the judgment, or at least the hands, of Ajax' goalkeeper for the fumbled cross which led to a tap-in goal by Sonko for the only lead of the game (62).

It was a galling error for the young Ausralian, who otherwise played a commanding game under awful conditions. Didulica made several bold decisions to come out of his area to stamp out real scoring chances for the hosts. His aggressive challenges countered some of the skittishness evident in the make-shift back line of Trabelsi, Yakubu, Bergdølmo and Van Damme. The outside defenders were often beaten by Roda's quick flanking play. Van Damme in particular seemed to struggle with both elements and the opposition. Most of the danger posed by Roda came from the right wing guarded by the Belgian defender.

One of those defensive break-downs allowed the 62nd minute end-line cross from Roda's Filipovic that beat Didulica. The Ajax keeper, who had taken up a position close to the near post, seemed to be surprised when the ball sailed overhead and nearly out of his reach. He back-pedaled and half-caught the overhead ball, but it then squirted out of his grip and fell to an on-rushing Eddy Sonko, who had no difficulty in kicking into the unguarded net.

The first half mostly favored the hosts. Hatem Trabelsi cleared not one but two headers, including one by Greek giant Yannis Anastasiou, off the Ajax goal line in a span of 15 minutes. Roda's dangerous wing play repeatedly exposed defensive weaknesses on the outsides, forcing bold tackles from central defenders and even bolder rushes from the swift-footed Didulica. Ajax fans must have been encouraged by the return to form of Andre Bergdolmo, who played a near-flawless match anchoring the defense in place of Cristian Chivu (rib injury).

Ajax also had their chances in the first half. Rafaël van der Vaart, looking none too comfortable as a striker alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic, managed a crisp shot that was only stopped by the Roda goalpost. And Zlatan missed a fairly open chance, pouncing on a loose ball and blasting solidly from six yards at the off-balance Roda keeper, when a well-placed shot to either side would surely have found the net.

The second half saw some better football, as both teams seemed to adapt their play to the unrelenting weather. Ajax responded to the Roda goal with a double-switch, replacing an ineffectual and increasingly frustrated Zlatan with Wamberto up front, and a relatively useless Richard Witschge with an equally useless Victor Sikora in the 64th minute. Along with the personnel change, there was also a tactical switch, from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3, with van der Vaart dropping back to a more effective "shadow striker" position.

The change paid off. Wamberto, playing on the right wing, showed up often in the middle of the field. There was great chemistry and clever play from the triumvirate of Trabelsi, Pienaar and Wamberto. Pienaar played a particularly strong match. He held onto the ball well and chipped away at the Roda defense with telling passes throughout the game.

The break for Ajax came in the 72nd minute, when build-up play from this dangerous trio allowed Trabelsi to cross to Rafael van der Vaart, who stood in the half-circle at the top of the 18-yard box. Van der Vaart controlled the ball with his chest, turning his back to goal to shield the ball from the Roda defense. Almost instantly after the chest trap, he half-turned and fired an unexpected low shot, still with his back to goal. The ball slid past the diving Roda keeper and into the low corner, just below the delighted band of 1,000 travelling Ajax supporters.

Strange that a game which featured so much danger from balls crossed in the air, with gusting winds playing havoc with keepers' and defenders' efforts to clear, was played mostly by an "All Smurf" team for Ajax in the second half. With the Wamberto and Sikora substitutions, the tallest Ajax player ahead of the defenders was Tomás Galásek at 5'9". This combination of small, quick and skillful players led to a lot of possession in the Roda half, but no to a lot of true scoring chances. Van der Vaart's goal came somewhat out of nowhere.

Finally, in the 83rd minute, a spent Van der Vaart was replaced by Mido. And the Egyptian did just enough in his brief minutes on the pitch to make you wonder if his height, strength and direct style of play might have paid dividends in these conditions if he'd been given more time.

Both teams were probably satisfied with this result. One point at Roda has become something of a tradition for Ajax (3 in a row, dating back to April 2001), and neither team played well enough to deserve more. (MP)

Note: Traffic problems caused by the weather delayed kick-off to 8:15PM.

GOALS

• 62' 1-0 Edrissa Sonko
• 72' 1-1 Rafaël van der Vaart

Referee: Braamhaar
Yellow cards: Brouwers, Luijpers, Van Dessel, Sonkaya (Roda JC), Yakubu (Ajax)
Attendance: 17,500

Ajax line-up: Didulica; Trabelsi, Bergdølmo, Yakubu, Van Damme; Galásek, Pienaar, Witschge (65. Sikora), Maxwell; Zlatan (65. Wamberto), Van der Vaart (83. Mido).

Roda JC line-up: Kujovic; Filipovic, Luijpers, Brouwers, Sonkaya; Van Dessel, Vicelich, Sonko (77. Nygaard), Soetaers; Cristiano (86. Berglund), Anastasiou (73. Sergio).

Related Links:

• Discussion: Eredivisie Games
• Profile: Roda JC
• Supershota: Goals (AVI video)
• Ajax.nl: Match Report (in Dutch, with pictures)