Spectacular win gives Ajax much-needed boost: 2-3
2 (1) - 3 (0)
Eredivisie
Arke Stadium, Enschede
Sunday, 22 January, 2006
Whenever Ajax are in crisis, there's always FC
Twente...
It seems like games between the two clubs are
always spectacular and in many cases mark a 'turning
point' of some kind. Coach Jan Wouters was fired days after a
0-1 home stumble against Twente (March 2000), Co Adriaanse was
sacked days after a spectacular win over Twente (3-2, after a 0-2 deficit at
half-time). On
15 August 2004 Twente vs Ajax was 'just'
very spectacular (2-3 after a comfortable 0-3 lead
for Ajax), but later that season the 'Reds'
won at the ArenA... and coach Ronald Koeman
resigned the same month. Finally, in the first
half of the current season, Twente came to the ArenA when
Ajax had not scored a goal in the Eredivisie for 440
minutes. Again, Ajax vs Twente was the
turning point.
Back to the present.
The start of the second half of the season was a
disappointment so far. Ajax embarrassed themselves against
both
Haarlem and
NEC, press and fans started to question Danny Blind's
coaching abilities and Ajax drove to Enschede knowing that
another defeat would usher in another period of
crisis at the ArenA. It all seemed to go terribly wrong at
first: Ajax started as poorly as they did against
NEC, went a goal down and conceded another one less than a
minute after they had finally equalized. Defeat seemed
inevitable, but then that crazy 'Twente thing' happened again:
Ajax scored in the 89th and 90th minutes and left Arke
Stadium with three points, after a game that was almost
identical to last season's unforgettable 'Classic' at
Feyenoord, on
17 April 2005: 2-3.
The scoreline wasn't the only similarity to that match.
Another thing Twente vs Ajax and the 'Classic of
April 2005' had in common was the fact that Ajax's win came
late, but wasn't undeserved. The Amsterdammers were terrible in
the opening phase and totally overwhelmed by the hosts'
aggression physical power. The first dangerous attempt was a
20th minute shot by Giorgi Gakhokidze, which went just wide,
shortly after which the home side converted their first
serious chance: a simple
Gakhokidze thru-pass ripped Ajax's sleepwalking
defense apart and striker Blaise N'Kufo - who always
scores against Ajax in Enschede - turned and diagonally fired
under Stekelenburg (25'). At that point, the travelling Ajax
supporters were still waiting for the first proper attack
by their team...
It must be said: Ajax improved almost immediately after the
opening goal and created their first major chance in
the 36th minute, when Sneijder lifted the ball over
Twente's defense, giving Markus Rosenberg a free passage.
Goalkeeper Sander Boschker (who played his 400th league game
for the Twente) grazed the Swede's finishing attempt,
pushing it inches wide of the far post. Five minutes later
Sneijder suddenly went to the grass. No Twente player had
touched him. Hamstring injury. The midfielder suffered from a
hamstring injury in recent weeks, but that was his other leg.
It seemed quite serious. A scan at the hospital (Monday
morning) will show how serious the injury really is.
Klaas Jan Huntelaar battles for the ball. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
1-0 down, Sneijder gone, only 15 minutes of proper football
and one real scoring chance... at half-time things did not look
good for Ajax, who - by the way - had reverted to their
'classic' 4-3-3 formation, with Mauro Rosales and Markus
Rosenberg on the wings (both did quite well), Olaf
Lindenbergh in midfield (instead of Nourdin Boukhari) and
Hedwiges Maduro instead a slightly injured Thomas
Vermaelen. There seemed light at the end of the tunnel when
Ajax equalized six minutes after the break (beautiful cross by
Rosales, slamming header by Rosenberg -- a classic Ajax
goal), but that light disappeared less than
sixty seconds later. Giorgi Gakhokidze dribbled and fired,
Maarten Stekelenburg punched the Georgian's attempt out of
the top corner, but the ball landed on the
forehead of Blaise N'Kufo, who nodded home: 2-1 (52').
The only things that could save Ajax now
were fighting spirit and a tremendous work ethic.
Fortunately, the team seemed well aware of this.
Ajax had dominated ever since Twente's first
goal, but the hosts' second marked the beginning of 38
minutes of 'one way traffic' in the direction of Sander
Boschker's goal, which brought Ajax a handful of chances and -
eventually - an unlikely triumph.
Markus Rosenberg's shot went inches wide, Klaas-Jan
Huntelaar header from close range could not surprise
Boschker, who also brilliantly punched a Tomás
Galásek shot over the cross-bar and saved when Hedwiges
Maduro suddenly had a free passage but shot too softly. As for
Twente: they had a few promising opportunities
to counter-attack, but failed to outplay Ajax even on
a three-against-one break (Zdenek Grygera
intercepted).
Ajax were never great in Enschede, but their relentless
pressure in the second half eventually paid off. In the 89th
minute, just when Ajax's flickering flame
of hope was about to die, Twente's Icelandic
newcomer Vidarsson made a mistake on a high cross.
Instead of whacking the ball away, he offered
Hedwiges Maduro a massive chance, which the
Ajacied calmly converted with his left: 2-2. Twente
seemed devastated; Ajax wanted more. The players hardly took
the time to celebrate, but picked up the ball and rushed back
to their own end of the pitch. "All or nothing!" yelled the
Ajax fans.
They got 'all'.
One minute later Twente's defensive airforce cleared on
a corner kick, but the ball was picked up on the edge of the
penalty box by substitute Urby Emanuelson, who turned, aimed,
fired and saw his beautifully curving shot
disappear behind Sander Boschker for his first
ever goal in Ajax-1. While the visitors section of Arke
Stadium erupted, several Twente players crashed to
the grass in despair.
Olaf Lindenbergh congratulates Urby Emanuelson on his
game-winner. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
"Of course we were lucky in that decisive phase, but the
goals were not undeserved," said Danny Blind, who must
have sighed with relief, but didn't admit it. "We
were the better side for an hour and most of the chances
were for Ajax as well. Twente got two chances and they
were 100% effective. I have to give my team a compliment for
the way they fought for the win today."
His colleague, Rini Coolen, was a disappointed man: the
proud 'Reds' are only 13th on the table) and need the
points. Coolen told the official Twente website that Ajax's win
was 'lucky' and 'undeserved', but he made some slightly
different comments on Radio 1: "Okay, perhaps Ajax were
better. I admit that they had more possession and better
chances. But I thought we had things under control and if you
concede two last-gasp goals like that... That's just bitter.
Very bitter."
The match winner, Urby Emanuelson, added: "Our play was
not convincing today. Apparently, something has to go wrong
first before we all put our shoulders to the wheel.
We were 'Lucky Ajax' today. Definitely."
And so, an afternoon that seemed to be just the next
nightmare ended as very good afternoon for Ajax, because
Feyenoord, AZ, Groningen, Utrecht and Heerenveen all
dropped two points.
Twente vs Ajax was spectacular as usual, but was it
also a serious turning point? The two upcoming games
(Utrecht at home and Heerenveen away in the quarter final of
the Gatorade Cup) will give us the answer. (MP)
GOALS
- 25' 1-0 Blaise N'Kufo
- 51' 1-1 Markus Rosenberg
- 52' 2-1 Blaise N'Kufo
- 89' 2-2 Hedwiges Maduro
- 90' 2-3 Urby Emanuelson
Referee: Wegereef
Yellow cards: Juanfran, Grygera,
Lindenbergh (Ajax), Gerritsen (FC Twente)
Attendance: 13,250
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Heitinga,
Grygera, Maduro, Juanfran; Galásek, Sneijder (41.
Charisteas), Lindenbergh; Rosales, Huntelaar, Rosenberg (82.
Emanuelson).
FC Twente line-up: Boschker;
Schuurman, Niemeyer, Zomer, Heubach; Bakircioglü (74.
Brama), Gerk (68. Shoukov), Vidarsson, Gerritsen (87. Touzani);
N'Kufo, Gakhokidze.
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