Brondby and Ajax settle for entertaining 2-2 draw
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2 (1)
- 2 (1)
Champions League Qualifier
Brøndby Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark
Wednesday, 10 August,
2005
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2-2 at Brøndby Stadium... Is that a good or a
disappointing result? The Ajax delegation in
Copenhagen found that question hard to
answer. Scoring twice and notching a draw in a European
away game is not bad, you'd say. Besides: given the
fact that the physically superior Danish champions were
the dominant side and had more chances, the
Amsterdammers can't complain. On the other hand,
though: Ajax were 1-2 up until the third minute of
stoppage time, but then conceded a rather daft
equalizer after Wesley Sneijder had wasted the
ultimate chance to wrap it up and make it 1-3...
So, should Ajax be happy or disappointed...? It's hard to
say.
More than anything else, Brøndby IF vs Ajax was a
thoroughly entertaining game, and coaches Michael
Laudrup and Danny Blind seemed to agree: 2-2 was a fair result
over all. Both teams had a few reasons to feel a bit sorry for
themselves, but both teams also realized that the damage
could have been worse.
Danny Blind: "Of course it's a bit disappointing if you
concede a goal ten seconds before the final whistle, but
Brøndby deserved the equalizer. They had more chances
than us."
Michael Laudrup: "I'm just happy we didn't lose by 1-2. That
would have pretty much killed off our hopes. Now we're
still alive."
The bottom-line? Everything is still open. The return
leg at the Amsterdam ArenA will be a
cracker.
Ajax frustration after
Brøndby's late equalizer. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
Ajax surprisingly started with Urby Emanuelson at left
fullback, Nourdin Boukhari at left midfield (instead of a
deeply disappointed Wesley Sneijder) and Hedwiges Maduro
instead of Tomás Galásek. The red and white had a
rough time in the first half at a roaring Brøndby
Stadium, where the hosts manifested themselves as less
sophisticated and skilled, but even more powerful (especially
in the air) and opportunistic than expected. The first serious
warnings arrived in the 12th and 14th minutes. First,
Morten Skoubo's flick-on header went inches past the far post
of Hans Vonk's goal. Two minutes later Vonk almost gave a
goal away when he decided to play some football and trick
a Brøndby striker on the goal-line, a few metres from
his empty goal...
Vonk, normally the most relaxed of Ajax's three competitive
goalkeepers, was remarkably shaky in the opening phase. He
looked like a volleyball player on a couple of shots, but
also kept his team upright on at least two occasions in
the first half, for example by superbly punching a Markus
Lantz shot over the cross-bar in the 33rd minute.
Ajax were under pressure in the first half
hour, but did have the best scoring chance of
all: Markus Rosenberg (who had a very good official
début for Ajax) picked up the ball in
midfield, rushed past one defender and was mowed
down outside of the penalty area. Referee Massimo de
Santis whistled for a foul, unaware that Nourdin
Boukhari had a face-to-face encounter with goalkeeper
Ankergren and should have been given the advantage. Boukhari
tapped the ball into the net just to show what a massive chance
it would have been.
Markus Rosenberg had a very good
official début game. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
Nevertheless, when erratic Brøndby defending in
the 31st minute allowed Ajax to open the scoring, it
was an undeserved and bitter setback for the hosts.
Ryan Babel's cross from the left reached Steven Pienaar, who
intelligently pulled it back to Markus Rosenberg. The Swede
did what he was landed for, calmly and resolutely: 0-1.
Ajax hadn't shown a single minute
of quality football until
that point. Brøndby's equalizer, only four
minutes later, was well-deserved, in spite of the fact
that many a referee would have disallowed
it: Morten Skoubo went for a high cross, Ajax's defenders
stood around, Hans Vonk dropped the ball
and Morten Skoubo gave the final push... with his
upper arm: 1-1 (35').
Brøndby had their biggest chance of the first
half in the very last minute before the break: another high,
sharp and opportunistic cross from the right flank brought Hans
Vonk in trouble, the ball got flicked on and was nearly
headed home by substitute Jonas Kamper at the far post. Vonk,
however, managed a miraculous save with his feet. 1-1 was
a half-time score the Dutch had to cherish: the first
half had definitely been for the Danes.
Urby Emanuelson started as Ajax's
left fullback. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
The second half started with a chance for Brøndby (a
good shot by Martin Retov that went just wide), but after
that Ajax finally seemed to find a way to deal with the home
team's physical and aerial
superiority. The Amsterdammers seemed
more concentrated, did not allow Brøndby
as many dangerous moments as in the first half and slowly
started to at least control the game,
although this did not bring them any scoring
chances. Nevertheless, by the 20th minute of the second
half you could finally see (for the first time...)
that there is actually a difference in quality between
Brøndby and Ajax.
Just like in the first half the Amsterdammers needed
only one good attack to score a goal: Ryan Babel
received the ball on the left flank, dribbled
into the penalty box and - while he turned
and seemed to stumble - released
a breath-taking screamer that slammed into
the upper ninety: 1-2. It was, once again, more than Ajax
deserved based on their play, but in the minutes
before the goal you could feel that this was the phase in which
Ajax could turn the match around.
A hard-fought but vital away win was within reach. It
would have been in the pocket if substitute Wesley
Sneijder had converted his 24-carate scoring chance in the
81st minute after what was by far the prettiest and most fluent
one-touch attack by either team in the whole
game: Rosenberg and Pienaar set it up with a
beautifully direct combination. Goalkeeper Ankergren was
already on the ground but Sneijder lifted the ball over
the bar from close range.
A tremendous miss, for which Ajax paid a high price.
The dying minutes saw no less than two moments of
defensive chaos. Ajax miraculously survived the first 'red
alert' moment (Morten Skoubo saw his beautiful chip hit the
underside of the cross-bar and land precisely on the
goal-line). The second one, however, brought
Brøndby the equalizer they deserved but no
longer expected: Martin Retov's shot took a highly
unfortunate deflection off Julien Escudé's upper leg and
trickled into the net, leaving Hans Vonk stranded: 2-2
(90+3').
So, once again: should Ajax be satisfied or disappointed
with this result?
An answer is almost impossible to give. Brøndby
were dominant and more dangerous, but scored
two goals that were a bit stinky. Ajax, on the other
hand, never played their own game and failed to impose
their will on a physically superior but technically inferior
opponent. Yet, they did take the lead twice
and conceded two equalizers in unfortunate
fashion, including one in stoppage time. What can you say?
Whatever. 2-2 is the result. That's all that
counts. Brøndby will have to score at the ArenA.
The Amsterdam crowd can prepare for an exciting evening on
August 24. (MP)
GOALS
- 31' 0-1 Markus Rosenberg
- 35' 1-1 Morten Skoubo
- 73' 1-2 Ryan Babel
- 90+3' 2-2 Julien Escudé (own goal)
Referee: De Santis (Italy)
Yellow cards: Lantz,
Skoubo (Brøndby IF), De Jong,
Grygera (Ajax)
Attendance: 26,000
Ajax line-up: Vonk; Trabelsi, Grygera,
Escudé, Emanuelson; De Jong, Maduro, Boukhari (78.
Sneijder); Pienaar, Rosenberg (88. Charisteas), Babel.
Brøndby
IF line-up: Ankergren; Agger, Nielsen,
Sennels, Lantz (82. Absalonsen); Retov, Rytter, Elmander,
Jørgensen (41. Kamper); Lorentzen (67. Daugaard),
Skoubo.
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