'Ajax-2' cruises to fine 4-0 win over Den Haag
4 (0) - 3
(0)
Holland Casino Eredivisie
Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam
Sunday, 01 February,
2004
| |
Today's game marked the
opening of Ajax USA's Rendezvous in Amsterdam. The
full contingent of this year's trip, some 33 strong,
pulls into town prior to Sunday's big clash with
defending champs PSV.
Stay tuned to Ajax USA
for pictures and notes from this year's trip!
|
Despite playing with one of the youngest and most
inexperienced squads in memory, Ajax had no trouble at at
all with a remarkably weak ADO Den Haag, scoring three
first-half goals and playing organized and self-assured
football along the way. In the end, the only questions were how
many would Ajax score (four), and how much damage would the
visiting supporters cause in their section (quite a lot). On
the field, the visitors from Den Haag seemed utterly incapable
of putting their hosts under real pressure.
Den Haag were completely outplayed from the start by an Ajax
side that included débutante Ryan Babel, instant success
story Daniël de Ridder (voted Man of the Match), and a
remarkably on-form John O'Brien. Just one month ago, the
American was still being discussed in muted,
disapproving tones for his perpetually injured status.
Now, just three games into the second half of the season, he's
playing with such confidence and skill that his selection is an
automatic decision for Ronald Koeman, and he's twice assumed
the captain's armband when the starting captain -- this
time Tomas Galásek -- left the game.
Self-assured and lethal at 19 --
Man of the Match Daniel de Ridder. [Photo: ANP]
Unable to challenge their host's swift, well-organized
possession game, Den Haag contented themselves with kicking out
at Ajax players after the ball was gone. Referee Haverkort was
forced to award free kicks to Ajax repeatedly throughout the
game. With two free kicks from dangerous locations in the
opening minutes, it seemed inevitable that Ajax would score
quickly. And so they did, when a Wesley Sneijder free kick in
the fifth minute was touched by several players. The ArenA
announcer initially gave Nigel de Jong the credit,
but it later turned out that the ball was
bumbled into the net by Kazuyuki Toda. Ironic detail: the
Japanese superstar made his début for ADO Den Haag and
the game was shown live in Japan for
this reason. Scoring an own goal after five minutes
was probably not what Toda hoped for...
If the visitors had had any aspirations of
taking a point away from Amsterdam, they seemed to
evaporate with the early goal. The ball stayed in Den
Haag's side of the pitch for virtually the entire first half,
with Ajax maintaining most of the possession. In the
absence of an injured Rafaël van der Vaart, Sneijder and
Galásek ran the Ajax show in midfield.
Galásek was the commanding midfield organizer,
distributing flawlessly while snubbing out any half-chance
mustered by Den Haag. Meanwhile, Sneijder had a hand in
all three first-half goals, scoring the third
himself.
Although deserved, Ajax's first goal was not pretty. By
contrast, Victor Sikora scored the second in wonderful style.
Set free to a one-on-one encounter with ADO goalkeeper De Vries
by a lethal through-pass from Sneijder, Sikora drew the
goalkeeper to him and then chipped over him into an empty net.
19th minute, 2-0 and, without a doubt, game over.
With the rest of the match seeming a formality, and Den Haag
kicking at ankles, Ajax might have been forgiven for settling
into a tepid possession drill. But for the remainder of the
first half, the Amsterdammers continued to play football, and
were rewarded with Wesley Sneijder's goal in the 38th
minute. Ryan Babel carried the ball through a forest of
Den Haag defenders before losing possession. Sneijder pounced
on the loose ball to score easily.
It could have been more, with Daniel de Ridder and Nigel de
Jong building from the right flank. However, making his Ajax-1
debut from the start in place of a trio of injured strikers
-- Ibrahimovic, Sonck and Van der Vaart were all
unavailable -- Babel (17) seemed nervous and largely
ineffectual as the Ajax target man. However, it was his pass
that sent Mitea on his jolly sprint toward goal in the second
half. Still, after the match, fans were comparing Babel to
Patrick Kluivert more for his physical stature and potential
than for what he was able to accomplish on the day.
But Daniël de Ridder was the name on everyone's lips. A
desperation substitute just eleven days ago in Kerkrade, De
Ridder made his second consecutive start on the right
wing and played with marvelous swagger and uncanny
intelligence. To no one's surprise, he was voted Man of the
Match.
Inevitably, the complete lack of pressure from ADO Den Haag
(the only dangerous shot on goal, by Ajax loanee Cedric
van der Gun, was saved marvellously by Maarten
Stekelenburg in the 76th) took its toll on the Ajax
mentality. The second half was a tepid affair, punctuated only
by an excellent goal by super-substitute Nicolea Mitea. Ronald
Koeman recently admitted that he thinks Mitea more effective
coming off the bench, and the coach's preferences seemed
justified after Mitea's goal, which was scored with speed
-- a 40-yard break-away from midfield with the ball at his
feet and defenders unable to catch him -- and skill, slotting
the ball perfectly beyond De Vries and into the far-side
netting.
Second-half substitute Mitea's
fine goal made it 4-0. [Photo: Gerard van Hees /
Ajax.nl]
Mitea's goal drew the fans' attention briefly back to the
game, when they had been previously occupied watching the
battles in the away supporters section. More than once, riot
police entered the Den Haag section only to be repelled by
flying pieces of dismantled seats. Several loud explosives, and
assorted debris, were dropped from their section in the
upper ring, so that large swaths of seats below were vacated by
Ajax supporters.
But in the end, it was the play of the young Ajax
over-achievers on the pitch, and not the antics of the visiting
fans, that kept Ajax fans talking on the way out of the
stadium. As Ajax begins to contemplate a possible future
without Rafaël van der Vaart, Hatem Trabelsi and
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, they can reflect on this performance and
feel assured that De Toekomst, the future, is still
bright. (JM)
GOALS
- 05' 1-0 Kazuyuki Toda (own goal)
- 19' 2-0 Victor Sikora
- 38' 3-0 Wesley Sneijder
- 78' 4-0 Nicolae Mitea
Referee: Haverkort
Yellow cards: Rijaard, Bodde, Oulida (ADO Den
Haag)
Attendance: 47,264
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; De Jong,
Heitinga, Escudé, O'Brien; Galásek (82. Yakubu),
Sneijder (55. De Mul), Maxwell; De Ridder, Babel, Sikora (64.
Mitea).
ADO Den Haag line-up: De Vries; Rijaard (30. Mensah),
Saavedra, Van As, El Akchaoui; Bodde (82. Stroeve), Van der
Leegte, Toda (46. Van der Gun), Oulida; Castelen, Simons.
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