CL qualifiers close after 2-0 win over Groningen
2 (1) - 0 (0)
Eredivisie Play-Offs
Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam
Wednesday, 26 April, 2006
It's all in the game... If Ajax manage two wins in their
last two games of the season, they will finish with the
Gatorade Cup in one hand and an admission ticket to the third
qualification round of the Champions League in the
other. A happy ending to the 2005-2006 season has become a
very realistic option indeed after the first leg in
the second round of the Eredivisie play-offs, at home
against one of the league's revelations of the year, FC
Groningen. Ajax beat the 'Pride of the North' by the score
of 2-0 and can drive to Groningen's Green
Cathedral (the atmospheric Euroborg) confidently.
It was a remarkable day for Ajax, to say the least. It
started very unpleasantly, as Holland's largest
morning paper, De Telegraaf, 'confirmed' the rumour
thas has been buzzing around for weeks: according to the paper
Danny Blind will be replaced this summer. Ajax immediately
issued a press statement ('Ajax will not evaluate the coaching
staff until season's end and find the current rumours in
the media very regrettable'), but the damage was already
done: the was more talk about Blind's possible
successors (Henk ten Cate? Ten Cate
and Frank Rijkaard? Louis van Gaal?) than about
Ajax vs Groningen.
At night at the Amsterdam ArenA, players and fans made clear
how they feel about the situation. Danny Blind's name was
chanted by the fans throughout the game, whereas
the players expressed their support by storming
straight to the bench after both of Ajax's goals, to
celebrate them with their head-coach. Board and
directors can impossibly have missed the point. And Danny
Blind? He tried to take heart and focus on his job, but
the cameras captured his tears. "They were
fantastic," was Blind's comment on the fans after the
game. "It meant the world to me. Yet, I am not
sure whether or not I'll still be coach of Ajax
next season. I can only say that I have a very bad feeling
about it."
Rosenberg celebrates his early
opening goal. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
After the game Blind revealed what he had told his
boys, prior to kick-off: "I literally told them: 'Go out there
and play the game of your lives. For yourselves, for the
fans and for Ajax.'"
Did they? The answer is no. Ajax vs Groningen wasn't
a very memorable match of football. Ajax were
once again unusually determined and passionate, which
is a good thing (they hardly ever were determined and
passionate until the play-offs started...), but let's
not get carried away: Ajax are still everything but great. The
fact that Blind was once again forced to shift his team around
did not help. Maduro and Rosales sustained injuries
against Feyenoord; Lindenbergh and Charisteas started at their
respective positions, so that Ajax started with two central
forwards (Charisteas and Rosenberg) on the wings.
Ajax did have a wonderful start: after
only 9 minutes an attack over the left flank via Boukhari
and Huntelaar, Groningen's defense allowed Markus
Rosenberg not one, not two, but three chances to fire
the ball past goalkeeper Bas Roorda. It was the Swede's first
goal since his impressive scoring streak just after the winter
break, which ended on 08 February.
The visitors definitely did not bow their heads. Groningen
were not bad at all in the first half and had the chances
to equalize. The best one was for Danny Buijs in the 17th
minute, but Maarten Stekelenburg saved nicely on the right
winger's shot. Former Ajax man Rasmus Lindgren seemed on
his way to the equalizer in the 33rd minute, but was pushed
over from behind by Emmanuel Boakye, exactly on the edge of the
penalty area. The Ajax defender may consider himself lucky that
referee Wegereef did not whistle.
The very best chance of the first half, however, was for
Ajax. In the 41st minute Klaas-Jan Huntelaar demonstrated that
he is actually capable of missing an absolute sitter every once
in a while. Nourdin Boukhari (easily the best man on the
pitch!) beautifully pulled the ball back to Huntelaar from
inside the area, but the latter's attempt hit the foot of
Bas Roorda, who was already on his way to the wrong
corner and must have thought he was beaten.
The first half was relatively exciting, with chances at both
ends. In the second half, however, Ajax were in
complete control and failed to reduce the return leg at
Euroborg to a formality. Especially after Angelos
Charisteas had made it 2-0 by resolutely and clinically
volleying a smart little Boukhari pass into the
net (68') the hosts missed a string of enormous chances to
wrap it all up in the first leg. Only two minutes after
Chari's goal it became obvious that today wasn't
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's day: he had a free passage to Roorda,
but the Groningen goalie 'stole' the ball from his boot
before he could shoot. In stoppage time, substitute Ryan Babel
missed an almost identical opportunity, only minutes
after Wesley Sneijder had fired diagonally wide from
close range and Tomás Galásek's very last long
range screamer for Ajax at the ArenA had only just missed its
target. Ajax should have scored a third.
After the game it was time for ceremonies. Ruud Krol,
former defender of Ajax (and current assistant
of Danny Blind) presented not one but two Marco van
Basten Trophies to the two young defenders who were
voted 'Talents of the Season': Urby Emanuelson and Thomas
Vermaelen. Legendary Ajax 'target man' Ruud Geels handed the
Rinus Michels Trophy for 'Player of the Season' to Klaas-Jan
Huntelaar, who needed only half a
season to clinch that title. After that, it was
time for the sometimes emotional goodbyes to six departing
players: Juanfran, Hans Vonk, Yannis Anastasiou, Steven
Pienaar, Hatem Trabelsi and (he deserves an extra mention)
Tomás Galásek, who was a loyal, self-effacing and
tremendously important midfielder and team captain for Ajax for
no less than six seasons.
Groningen coach Ron Jans wasn't sad after the game:
Groningen have had a wonderful season and qualified for
'Europe' for the first time since 1993. Beating Ajax is not a
'must' for them. "It seems over for us after this
result," Jans said. "But let's focus on the positive: Ajax
failed to finish us off in the second half. We're still alive
and I want to call on our fantastic home crowd one more
time. If they support us one last time this season, who knows
we can make it 2-0 in the 89th minute and win on
penalties."
As for Danny Blind: after his brief analysis of the game the
press reverted to what was the 'story of the day', no matter
how you look at it. "In my opinion the board should have
expressed their faith in me. Seriously, I would not have
blamed them for betraying that faith at a later stag. I know
how it works, I know what the world of football is like. But
now we can only guess what they're going to do. Seriously: I do
not know, but I have a bad feeling about it. I will give
everything for two more games and then I'll see what
happens. Which is not nice, of course. But I can't
change this situation, unfortunately."
Indeed, it was a night of mixed emotions at the Amsterdam
ArenA... (MP)
GOALS
- 09' 1-0 Markus Rosenberg
- 68' 2-0 Angelos Charisteas
Referee: Wegereef
Yellow cards: Boukhari (Ajax), Matthijs,
Sankoh, Buijs (FC Groningen)
Attendance: 38,060
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Boakye,
Heitinga, Vermaelen, Emanuelson; Galásek,
Lindenbergh, Boukhari (73. Sneijder); Charisteas, Huntelaar,
Rosenberg (60. Babel).
FC Groningen line-up: Roorda;
Silva, Luirink, Sankoh, Van der Linden; Matthijs, Lindgren,
Fledderus (63. Van de Laak); Buijs, Nevland (80.
Levchenko), Cornelisse (64. Salmon).
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