Ajax stop the bleeding with shaky win at RKC: 0-1
0 (0) - 1
(1)
Holland Casino Eredivisie
Mandemakers Stadium, Waalwijk
Saturday, 06 March, 2004
Did Ajax return to form at
Mandemakers Stadium? Absolutely not. The team, however,
did stop the bleeding of recent weeks with an uneven
performance at RKC Waalwijk. More heavily battered by
injuries than ever, Ajax made its first, shaky step
on the path to recovery. Scoring still appeared to
be a major problem and almost nothing goes
smoothly for the Amsterdammers at this point. The
only option was to work hard for the win, which is what
Ajax did, especially in the first half. The efforts were enough
for three points: 0-1.
It's rather typical that Ajax
once again was unable to score a proper goal by itself, in
spite of the fact that Koeman's boys had the best
chances throughout and should have had a more
comfortable lead at half-time. However, the only goal was
scored by an RKC defender. Rafaël van der Vaart's 40th
minute corner was flicked on at the near post by Khalid
Boulahrouz, putting goalkeeper Sinouh out of position.
A tiny touch with the toe was enough to push the ball
against the netting. Steve Olfers (a loanee from Feyenoord...)
did it for Ajax: 0-1 (40').
It was, quite remarkably, the
fourth time this season an opponent scored for Ajax.
Ajax's last goal before Olfers' unlucky moment was also an own
goal, by Heerenveen's Petter Hansson. Ajax now hasn't
scored a goal itself for 348 minutes. A worrying statistic, in
spite of the fact that this time the ball would surely have
been pushed home by an onstorming Ajax forward if
Olfers hadn't touched it.
The opening goal was a reward
for Ajax's determination in the first half. The team seemed to
be well aware that, given its poor form of recent weeks,
nothing will go automatically. Classy, stylish 'Ajax football'
simply isn't an option right now. Ajax, therefore, wisely
decided to do it with aggression and fighting spirit instead.
The right example was set in midfield by Nigel de Jong and
(more remarkably) Rafaël van der Vaart, who battled
for every inch.
The return of Van der Vaart
was the only good news for coach Ronald Koeman during
the week before the game. The Ajax boss had to
miss out on more players than ever: Trabelsi (groin
injury), Maxwell and Yakubu (flu), Sneijder (suspended),
Ibrahimovic and Pienaar (set to play for Young Ajax
this week), Soetaers, O'Brien and Litmanen were missing,
ushering in the return to the first team squad of Young
Ajax's Jason Culina. Jelle Van Damme and Zdenek Grygera were
the stand-in fullbacks, while Wesley Sonck was granted
another chance to prove himself as a right winger, so that
Daniël de Ridder returned to the bench on his 20th
birthday.
Back in the starting line-up:
Jelle Van Damme [Photo: Ajax.nl]
Given the personnel shortage Ajax's clear dominance in the
first half was a pleasant surprise. There were several chances
to open the scoring, but most attention was drawn by RKC's much
discussed goalkeeper, Khalid Sinouh, who had a hilariously
shaky first half. On several occasions he panicked as the ball
was passed back to him and he made his fans hold
their breath as he dropped a Wesley Sonck free-kick, which
almost trickled between his legs and into goal. The
section of travelling Ajax fans behind him sensed Sinouh's
insecurity and accompanied his every action with yelling
and whoo-ing.
After Steve Olfers put Ajax in the lead Nigel de Jong should
almost immediately have made it 0-2, but he fired into the side
netting as he came face to face with Sinouh.
Nicolea Mitea duels with Ajax
loanee Serginho Greene. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
The hosts were timid in the first half, but seemed more
aware of their chances against the struggling league leaders
after the break. Initially, however, this only provided Ajax
with more space: Rafaël van der Vaart, Wesley
Sonck and substitue Nicolae Mitea had ample chances to
double the lead before RKC created its first seriously
dangerous moments in the 66th minute: Patrick van Diemen's
furious and well-aimed shot was superbly punched out of the
upper ninety by Maarten Stekelenburg. Less than 60 seconds
later a diagonal volley by Rick Hoogendorp (RKC's superstar in
recent seasons, but now brought on as a
pinch-hitter) bounced inches past the far post.
Almost immediately the quality of Ajax's play dropped to
the level the fans have grown accustomed to in February.
Nevertheless, Nicolae Mitea once again had an open chance
to put Ajax's decisive second on the score-board. The
young Romanian should have passed to a totally unmarked Wesley
Sonck, but went for his own glory and fired wide.
At the moment Ajax is not the self-assured, calm outfit
it is expected to be. Inevitably, RKC's offensive in the
last minutes led to a few scary moments in the back, especially
as one of the hosts' corner kicks was nodded inches wide. An
equalizer, however, would have been undeserved. In spite of its
uneven performance and its poor play in the second half, Ajax
had the better chances throughout.
Whereas Serginho Greene (a product of the Ajax youth
system) was voted 'Man of the Match' by the
home fans, one of the Ajacieden who deserved a
mention was Zdenek Grygera. His first season at the ArenA
hasn't always been easy for the former Sparta Prague man,
but today he showed why he was purchased: he is not
fast, but almost never out-sprinted, due to his tactical
intelligence. He's calm, has a well-timed tackle, is strong in
the air and also had a few fine rushes and long passes.
The Ajax players were visibly relieved as they celebrated
the win with the travelling supporters. A series of three
tough away fixtures has come to an end. We can't exactly
say that it was a good series for Ajax, but the team's six
point lead somehow remained intact. It was even increased to
nine, for the time being, so that PSV requires a win at FC
Utrecht to keep Ajax in sight. (MP)
GOAL
- 40' 0-1 Steve Olfers (own goal)
Referee: Bossen
Yellow cards: Grygera (Ajax)
Attendance: 7,800
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Grygera,
Heitinga, Escudé, Van Damme; De Jong, Van der Vaart,
Galásek; Sonck (83. De Ridder), Anastasiou (72. Culina),
Sikora (54. Mitea).
RKC Waalwijk line-up: Sinouh; Greene, Olfers,
Teixeira (88. Torma), Fuchs; Petrovic, Van Diemen, Boutahar;
Boulahrouz (63. Hoogendorp), Oost (78. Bernardo),
Cornelisse.
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