Ajax surprise with swinging 4-2 win over AZ

The second slot in the Eredivisie is suddenly back in sight for Ajax. The Amsterdammers played their by far best and most entertaining game of the season against the club they've watched with so much envy all season: AZ from Alkmaar, the spectacularly over-achieving runners-up in the Eredivisie. Co Adriaanse's men were mostly chasing shadows at the ArenA, where Ajax suddenly showed the movement, the creative ideas and the passion that characterize the 'Ajax football' the ArenA crowd used to know: 4-2. The supporters had almost forgotten what it looked like...

Many Ajax fans have been casting envious looks to Alkmaar this season, where Co Adriaanse's AZ played spectacular, fast and offensive football, bravely chased PSV in the Eredivisie and beat one esteemed opponent after the other in the UEFA Cup - in other words: everything that Ajax intended to do this season, but never did. AZ suffered their second Eredivisie defeat of the season last week at De Kuip (4-2), but strongly denied that they were slowly running out of fuel. They underscored their point on Thursday with another impressive UEFA Cup win at the #3 from the Spanish Primera Division: Villarreal. There was no reason for Ajax to be overly optimistic. The injuries of Angelos Charisteas and Mauro Rosales only made the situation more worrying.

But Ajax surprised everyone (including themselves and AZ) with a no less than terrific start. Was it the 'hand of Danny Blind'? One thing's for sure: the new Ajax boss once again made a number of remarkable decisions. Rafaël van der Vaart once again started on the bench, this time with former captain John Heitinga sitting next to him, as Blind opted for Grygera and Escudé in the heart of defense, indeed the best and most solid duo we've seen there this season (Escudé, by the way, wore the captain's armband for the first time in an official game). Not Daniël de Ridder but Steven Pienaar replaced Mauro Rosales on the right wing, creating a spot for Nigel de Jong in midfield. 

Ajax teammates celebrate Nigel de Jong's first goal. [Photo: Ajax.nl] 

The latter had a particularly impressive first half. After an early 'warning shot' in the 6th minute (excellent, slamming header, superbly saved by Henk Timmer) De Jong made the sold-out ArenA erupt after 19 minutes by converting a Hatem Trabelsi cross, once again with the head: 1-0. It was a well-deserved lead indeed: by the 19th minute Timmer had also saved on Pienaar and Mitea attempts. He could only watch as Hatem Trabelsi concluded an impressive solo run from the back with a furious shot that flew inches wide of the far post. Yes, AZ were outplayed in the opening phase. Truly and thoroughly outplayed by an Ajax team that finally looked like a team with an idea and a structure.

Hatem Trabelsi had another chance to score (and once again he created it all by himself) but fired into the side netting. The ArenA crowd was delighted and had already concluded that this was the best and most enjoyable home match of the season, when AZ levelled the score from what actually was their first serious chance, one minute after they had lost Oranje defender Jan Kromkamp due to an injury. Hedwiges Maduro frivolously lost the ball to Buskermolen in midfield and their counter-attack was as fast as it was lethal: Robin Nelisse, AZ's hero of the Villarreal game, came face to face with Vonk, his shot was low, hard and well aimed: 1-1 (38').

It would have been understandable if Ajax had taken a few minutes to feel sorry for themselves after the rather unfortunate equalizer, but the hosts (how remarkable) seemed unimpressed. For well over six months the team had enormous trouble to create chances and even more problems to recover from a goal of the opposition. Not this time. Ajax were in the lead again four minutes later after a delightful example of 'one touch football' (it was Ajax's trademark once!): Steven Pienaar's touch gave Nigel de Jong a free passage through the middle and the on-form midfielder slotted home: 2-1 (42'). 

Finally the Ajax supporters had plenty to talk about at half-time. Referee Van Egmond's half-time whistle did not elicit whistling, booing or indifferent grumbling, but a warm round of applause. Thursday's win over Willem II didn't mean much, but today the fans really saw their team make a giant leap forward and pick themselves up from the dirt. 

De Jong celebrates his second goal with his teammates. [Photo: Ajax.nl]

The win, however, was absolutely not guaranteed yet. Danny Blind underscored recently that this season's Ajax team has trouble staying calm when they're only one goal up. As long as the difference is minimal anything can happen. A collapse is always possible. Thank God, therefore, for Wesley Sneijder, who had spent the first half chasing a superior Denny Landzaat, but decided the game in the 51st minute with a 24-carate free-kick from some 20 yards, straight into the top corner: 3-1.

What followed was (the first time this season...?) a phase of downright gallery play, in which Ajax confidently knocked the ball around. Little flicks, backheels - all of a sudden everything went right. The best example was the 61st minute attack that made it 4-1: Nicolae Mitea tipped the ball past his defender's right, while slipping past his left side himself, cut to the middle and graciously allowed Steven Pienaar the goal: 4-1 (61'). Remember the days in which scores like that were 'normal' for Ajax? The last time Ajax had a three goal lead (or scored four times) was almost four months ago, on 19 December 2004 in Groningen...

For a while it seemed like Ajax were going to hurt AZ even more, but after Hatem Trabelsi had given it another try (he aimed an inch too high and saw his shot land on the roof of Timmer's goal) the home side shifted to a lower gear and, after a moment of defensive negligence, saw Tarik Sektioui push AZ's second under Hans Vonk (88'). It would have been the perfect apoteosis if Rafaël van der Vaart thundering diagonal volley had slammed home, but Henk Timmer dived with style, spectacularly punching the ball wide.

A minute later a grateful ovation rolled from the stands, from a crowd that wasn't exactly spoiled by their team this season.

"The difference could easily have been five or six goals," admitted Co Adriaanse after the game, "Ajax were really good today and we were really bad." An interesting statistic: it was Co Adriaanse's 21st game against Ajax as a coach (PEC Zwolle, FC Den Haag, Willem II and AZ). He won only one of those game and lost sixteen times. He never grabbed a point on Amsterdam soil. Rumor has it, by the way, that he may return to the ArenA sooner than one would think. Now that his former foe, Arie van Eijden, will soon disappear from the ArenA, Adriaanse has admitted that he could be interested in a return (possibly as technical director).  

Ajax, meanwhile, suddenly are back in the race for the second slot on the table, and the chance to qualify for the Champions League via a preliminary round. The Amsterdammers are now only one point behind AZ, who still have a game in hand. If Ajax manage a win in the second 'Classic' of the season, next weekend in Rotterdam, a dead season will suddenly come to life... (MP)

GOALS

• 19'  1-0  Nigel de Jong
• 38'  1-1  Robin Nelisse
• 42'  2-1  Nigel de Jong
• 51'  3-1  Wesley Sneijder
• 61'  4-1  Steven Pienaar
• 88'  4-2  Tarik Sektioui

Referee: Van Egmond
Yellow card: Trabelsi (Ajax)
Attendance: 49,882

Ajax line-up: Vonk; Trabelsi, Grygera, Escudé, Maxwell; De Jong, Maduro, Sneijder (65. Van der Vaart); Pienaar (78. Emanuelson), Babel, Mitea (84. Boukhari).

AZ line-up: Timmer; Kromkamp (37. Jaliens), Lindenbergh, Opdam, De Cler; Landzaat, Van Galen (67. Ramzi), Buskermolen; Sektioui, Nelisse, Perez (67. Huysegems).

Related Links:

• Discussion: 10 Apr 2005: Ajax - AZ
• Ajax.nl: Match report in  Dutch and English