Ajax close in on second place with 4-0 romp over RKC

In recent weeks Ajax coach Danny Blind often complained about the ineffectiveness of his team. "We should convert the first two chances in a match, not the seventh and eighth. Then you'll have a much easier game." In league matches against Willem II, Feyenoord and De Graafschap Ajax indeed scored most of their goals in the final minutes of the game, after having wasted several chances to decide the game at an early stage. And in the semi-final of the Amstel Cup Ajax didn't even convert one of their many chances.

From that perspective Blind must have concluded that his team has improved after the Eredivisie home fixture against RKC Waalwijk, a team that has nothing left to play for in the remaining weeks of the season. The first chance for Ajax came only after 35 minutes, but Ryan Babel grabbed it straight away and scored from a tight angle: 1-0. Two minutes later the points were effectively in Ajax's pocket: 2-0. Now that is effectivity for you. Danny Blind must have been pleased. "I have a few critical footnotes, but you are looking at a happy coach at the moment," Blind stated after the match. His complaints were about the three chances RKC got in the first half, the best chances of the game at that point. "Three is too many," he said. Thanks to Rick Hoogendorp's failure to give RKC the lead in the first part of the game Ajax were not punished for their weak defending.

Feelin' it... Nigel de Jong celebrates his goal. [Photo: Ajax.nl]

Blind's recent comments that after two early goals a game would be much easier to play out, were taken to heart by Ajax this evening. The consequence, however, was that the remainder of the game was not very exciting. Apart from some fluent combinations the pace was low - but Ajax were good enough to stay out of trouble. With the recent narrow escapes against De Graafschap and (a bit longer ago) Den Bosch in mind, the Ajax fans had no reason to complain about this one, especially when Ajax scored another two goals in the second half, resulting in a solid 4-0 victory.

The finest moments of the match were the four goals Ajax scored, all of good quality. The first one was a crisp shot on goal by Ryan Babel after receiving the ball from a hard-working Angelos Charisteas. Babel, playing from the left side of the field, surprised RKC goalie Khalid Sinouh with a low and precise shot that found the net via the inside of the left post. Two minutes later defender Zdenek Grygera headed home beautifully after a good cross by Nigel de Jong.

The two goals in the second half were even nicer. In the 77th minute Nigel de Jong fired from just outside the penalty box, finding the low right corner, after a beautiful combination with Steven Pienaar, who set De Jong up with a nice 'backheel'. The two players again showed how well they understand each other on the pitch. After the match De Jong confirmed that he loves playing with Pienaar, also his best mate off the pitch: "Steven and I understand each other very well. His assist was great. It seems he's got eyes in the back of his head."

Charisteas and Babel celebrates the latter's goal. [Photo: Ajax.nl]

For that reason the Ajax supporters hope the two will play together for at least another year at the Amsterdam ArenA. Both players' contracts will expire next season, which means that Ajax need to extend the terms if they are to be retained beyond this season and still sold at some profit. Both players are still negotiating with Ajax and the latest signals look promising. On Amsterdam television station AT5 Pienaar confirmed last week that he would like to stay at Ajax. If he stays, the chance that his good friend De Jong will stay also, will increase.

It was nice for the crowd that Ajax didn't stop scoring after the three goals and produced a fourth one, just before the final whistle. It was Charisteas who was rewarded for his efforts with a fine goal. The Greek outsmarted his opponent, turned quickly and created a free passage to the RKC goal. With a fine chip he lofted the ball over a diving Sinouh: 4-0.

Nice one for the home crowd, who haven't exactly been spoiled this season. In the previous fifteen home games in the Eredivisie Ajax scored only 26 times, an extremely poor average of 1.7 goals per match. By scoring four times Ajax performed well above average, at least in figures. And that was perhaps the most important conclusion of the evening. (BV)

UPDATE 08 May: ADO Den Haag scored two late goals at Zuiderpark Stadium today: Eljero Elia (87') and Geert den Ouden (89') handed AZ a 2-1 defeat. As a result, the gap between #2 Ajax and #3 AZ is now seven points, with only two more league games left to play. The second slot now officially belongs to Ajax. The Amsterdammers will get the chance to qualify for next season's Champions League via the third preliminary round in August.

GOALS

• 35'  1-0  Ryan Babel
• 37'  2-0  Zdenek Grygera
• 77'  3-0  Nigel de Jong
• 89'  4-0  Angelos Charisteas
  

Referee: Haverkort
Yellow card: Molhoek (RKC Waalwijk)
Attendance: 48,672

Ajax line-up: Vonk; Trabelsi, Grygera, Heitinga, Escudé; De Jong, Maduro, Sneijder; Pienaar, Charisteas, Babel.

RKC Waalwijk line-up: Sinouh; Greene, Van Diemen, Van Hintum (75. Fung A Wing), Vermaelen; Schreuder (46. Molhoek), Krohn-Dehli, Fuchs; Elmas (66. Martens), Hoogendorp, Oost. 

Related Links:

• Discussion: 07 May 2005: Ajax - RKC Waalwijk
• Ajax.nl: Match report in English and Dutch