Amazing... Weak Ajax pull off last-gasp win: 2-1
2 (0) - 1 (0)
Eredivisie
Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam
Wednesday, 12 April, 2006
After Roda JC vs Ajax (2-1) on 02 April head-coach Danny
Blind complained on TV about Ajax's lack of good fortune.
He stated that the Amsterdammers had once again become the
victim of bad referee calls. According to Blind
questionable decisions by the 'men in
black' have cost Ajax at least 10 points this
season. Such bad luck!
It seems the gods have listened to Blind's lament:
Sunday's win over AZ was a bit fortunate, to say the least, and
against Vitesse (in the last home game of the 'regular'
Eredivisie) Ajax scored twice in the dying minutes
of what was quite possibly their weakest home
game in an already dreadful season. Moreover, the linesman
did not notice that Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was off-side when he
levelled the score in the 89th minute. Ajax's ugly and
blatantly undeserved 2-1 win made them leapfrog
FC Utrecht (who lost at FC Groningen) and jump to 4th. A point
on Sunday at RKC Waalwijk will be enough for play-off
qualification.
'Man of the Match' Thomas
Vermaelen wins an aerial duel
against Tom De Mul, who will return to Ajax this summer.
[Photo: Ajax.nl]
So, the attendees of Ajax USA's Rendezvous in Amsterdam 2006
saw their team grab six points, but that's all there is to it.
They watched two games in which Ajax hardly ever
convinced. Against AZ, Ajax were outplayed most of
the time; against Vitesse they totally and utterly failed to
create any danger whatsoever, against a well organized
and determined opponent that (once again) created the
by far best chances of the encounter and should have decided
the confrontation well before Ajax turned it around.
In the first half, in particular, Ajax were so
shockingly poor that the fans at the Amsterdam
ArenA seemed paralyzed, making for a sepulchral
atmosphere. It was almost painful to watch this parody of an
Ajax team, in which midfielders Hedwiges Maduro and
Tomás Galásek were even worse than the rest. Ajax
couldn't even string two proper passes together, created
absolutely nothing and even failed to at least put their
shoulders to the wheel. Vitesse's defense was never tested,
they dominated in midfield and almost nonchalantly created two
major scoring chances (Hersi and Junker, around the 25th
minute). And the worst thing was: they didn't even have to play
well for it.
What in the world is wrong with this Ajax team...? This game
was a must-win, the last home game of the season and a crucial
one in the race for the play-offs. Did they even
understand that? The only three players who did
not have to take the fans' castigating
whistling at half-time to heart were Thomas Vermaelen (by
far Ajax's best man on the day) and the two young fullbacks of
Blind's choice, Emmanuel Boakye and Robbert Schilder.
They did anything they could, defended alright and could
not be blamed. Nonetheless, the forward drive of Hatem Trabelsi
and the aggression of Urby Emanuelson were badly missed.
Ajax seemed to improve a bit in the opening phase of the
second half, in which Markus Rosenberg finally
got Ajax's first serious scoring chance: a sudden
shooting opportunity from close range, on a corner kick from
the left. Goalkeeper Harold Wapenaar turned the Swede's attempt
around the post. The next chance was for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar,
in the 55th minute, but Wapenaar saved again.
Invisible for 89 minutes, but
then...bang: 1-1, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
(who was off-side when he scored...). [Photo: Ajax.nl]
The upsurge didn't last long. Ajax drifted further and
further away from the football they wish to play, until
the inevitable happened in the 62nd minute. Ajax
loanee Tom De Mul intercepted the ball on the right flank,
beautifully tricked Robbert Schilder and released a perfect
cross that was nodded into the top corner by
Youssouf Hersi: 0-1 (62'). Oh, irony: the
first moment of classy, fast and effective Ajax
football was this wonderful 'co-production' by
two slender players from the Ajax youth, wearing the
yellow and black of the visitors...
The worst case scenario now presented itself: at
the Green Cathedral in Groningen the local pride
had just taken a 2-0 lead against FC Utrecht (there, too,
one of the goals was scored by a former Ajax man: Rasmus
Lindgren). Were Ajax going to crash out of the top five
tonight? It sure seemed like it. Ajax were powerless, clueless,
hopeless. They never looked like they were going to win and
were getting worse by the minute. This could actually be the
last home game of the season... and the last Ajax home game for
Tomás Galásek and Nourdin Boukhari, not even
to mention the ones on bench and stands: Vonk,
Trabelsi, Anastasiou. What a way to
say goodbye...
Danny Blind brought Angelos Charisteas for Markus
Rosenberg (who didn't have a summer break this season and is
visibly starting to pay the price for it) and Wesley Sneijder
for Nourdin Boukhari. Sneijder has recovered from his hamstring
injuries and made his first appearance since the lost
'Classic' of 05 February.
Ajax still failed to create chances
(a Sneijder shot from a difficult angle and a
Huntelaar free-kick were the most noteworthy shots on
target), but at least showed aggression now and -
thanks to Sneijder's passing - a forward drive
that (for the first time in the game) put Vitesse under
pressure. Just when the ArenA crowd was about to
accept the (possibly fatal) defeat, it happened again:
a spectacular 'Houdini escape' by Ajax. Just like at
FC Thun and at
Twente; Ajax have actually not been that unfortunate, Mr
Blind...
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was off-side when Angelos
Charisteas flicked on Mauro Rosales' cross with the head, but
the linesman kept his flag down, allowing Huntelaar
to fire his 31st of the
season past Wapenaar: 1-1 (89').
Vitesse protested furiously and the first Arnhem
players already sank to the grass in misery, but it would
have been a better idea to organize the defense and
prepare for the final minutes. They didn't - and
were to leave the Amsterdam ArenA empty-handed. Two
minutes into stoppage time Wesley Sneijder's free kick from the
right flank sailed into the goalmouth and there was Angelos
Charisteas, towering high above the entire Vitesse defense
to fiercely slam his forehead against the ball: 2-1
(90+2'). How good for Ronald Koeman's maligned signing:
Charisteas has been consistently valuable for Ajax this
season, doing the business almost each time he
got a chance.
"Huntelaar has been our most important player lately, but
Charisteas is definitely not a bad alternative," said Danny
Blind after the game. "It is no surprise to me that
Angelos did so well. He's doing well in training,
too."
Another miraculous escape... Question is: will it be enough
for Danny Blind? The rumours that Ajax are talking to Henk
ten Cate (Frank Rijkaard's assistant at FC Barcelona) are
increasingly persistent and the Ajax board no longer support
Blind in the media. "I will not comment on that," was all
chairman John Jaakke had to say when asked whether or not he
thought that Blind is doing a good job. Blind
himself gives the impression that he feels the storm
coming. In reaction to Jaakke's remarks he told RTV
Noord-Holland: "It says enough when they start saying things
like that."
Indeed, Danny Blind's days as head-coach
of Ajax seem numbered, in spite of the fact that Ajax
are now one point away from the play-offs and (for now) headed
for an encounter with Feyenoord. (MP)
GOALS
- 62' 0-1 Youssouf Hersi
- 89' 1-1 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
- 90' 2-1 Angelos Charisteas
Referee: Van Egmond
Cards: none
Attendance: 46,686
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Boakye,
Heitinga, Vermaelen, Schilder; Galásek, Maduro (46.
Babel), Boukhari (70. Sneijder); Rosales, Huntelaar, Rosenberg
(70. Charisteas).
Vitesse line-up: Wapenaar;
Swerts, Knol, Dingsdag, Fränkel; Van der Schaaf,
Knopper, Janssen; De Mul (83. Benson), Junker (80. Rojer),
Hersi.
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