Superior Ajax allow Groningen late brace: 3-2
3 (2) - 2 (0)
Eredivisie
Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam
Tuesday, 27 December, 2005
Sometimes things are not what they seem... For three
seasons in a row Ajax vs Groningen had a final score of
2-1 and in some of those games the 'Pride of the
North' gave the Amsterdammers a very hard time indeed.
This time, however, they did not cause Ajax any serious
trouble, although their late brace of
goals might suggest otherwise. Ajax were far superior
for 80 minutes and took a 3-0 lead in resolute
style. After Ajax's soon-to-be-presented new striker,
Klaas Jan Huntelaar, had netted twice for Heerenveen
at RKC Waalwijk (2-2) his future team-mates Markus
Rosenberg (once) and Angelos Charisteas (twice) were
'on target' at the ArenA.
It was a historic week for FC Groningen. The northern
side played their last couple of games at old
Oosterpark stadium and paid homage to their legendary home
ground in emotional style. The team booked two last wins at
their beautiful old stadium, where the supporters wiped away
many a tear.
Tomas Galásek duels with
Groningen's Glen Salmon. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
With all due respect: in the first half of Ajax vs Groningen
it seemed like the men of coach Ron Jans had shot their
bolt during the 'farewell festivities'. They
were outplayed by a determined Ajax side in the opening
phase and were 2-0 down in no time. After only 7
minutes Markus Rosenberg deftly flicked Mauro Rosales' cross on
to Angelos Charisteas. The Greek pulled the ball back to
Rosenberg, who hammered it home from close range, via the
underside of the cross-bar: 1-0 (7'). A very good
goal and a typical 'striker finish' from the Swede.
Eleven minutes later another fast, dynamic Ajax attack
over the right flank culminated in an intelligent, low cross by
Mauro Rosales, which was tapped home at the far post by Angelos
Charisteas: 2-0 (18'). The game seemed over. Mauro
Rosales, by the way, definitely deserved a special
mention. The Argentinian has had a a very bad
slump this season and lost his slot in the starting
line-up, but started against Groningen due to Johnny
Heitinga's illness (Nigel de Jong replaced him
in central defense, creating a vacancy for Rosales on
the right flank). Rosales was energetic and sometimes
unstoppable. His two assists underscored his fine performance,
especially in the first half.
How remarkable: every Dutch football fan talked
about the upcoming transfer of Klaas Jan Huntelaar to Ajax this
week, but the two strikers in Ajax's current 4-4-2
formation underscored their good form by effectively winning
the game for their team in twenty minutes' time. "Rosenberg and
Charisteas demonstrated with their excellent goals that
they are of great value to Ajax," stressed head-coach Danny
Blind after the game.
As for FC Groningen:
the visitors never really seemed to be in the
game. One of the weakest 'men in green' was left winger
Yuri Cornelisse, who was replaced with Norwegian striker
Erik Nevland after only 41 minutes. Nevland was on
the pitch for about 30 seconds when he got Groningen's
first real chance. The Ajax defense failed to clear a high
cross, offering Nevland a sudden, unmarked scoring
chance from ten yards or so. The Norwegian seemed a
bit surprised by this tremendous opportunity to bring his
team back into the game and fired wide. The most noteworthy
moment from an Ajax point of view was Markus Rosenberg's second
'goal' in the 32nd minute: a clinical, diagonal finish.
Referee Koopman disallowed the goal (a questionable call), but
the way Rosenberg slotted home says a lot about his
current form and self-confidence. That's why it was such a
shame that Rosenberg also drew some negative attention: TV
footage made clear that the Ajacied 'elbowed' one Groningen
opponent and nastily stepped on the foot of another. The
KNVB prosecutor may very well investigate Rosenberg's
actions.
Markus Rosenberg scored
Ajax's opening goal, but didn't
exactly deserve the Fair Play Award against Groningen...
[Photo: Ajax.nl]
The second half started with twenty dull minutes, in which
Ajax seemed poorly concentrated. Groningen,
meanwhile, started playing a bit better, but seemed
incapable of seriously fighting back. Just when the game
was about to fizzle out, Ajax scored their third: Wesley
Sneijder's perfect cross from the left gave Angelos Charisteas
a 24-carate header opportunity. The Greek nodded the ball
against the post, but calmly corrected his miss in the
rebound: 3-0 (67').
Game over, you'd say, but it turned out differently. In
fact, the nightmare scenario of
Ajax vs ADO Den Haag (when Ajax squandered a 2-0 lead
in stoppage time...) almost repeated itself: minutes after
Maarten Stekelenburg had saved on a screamer
from substitute (and former Ajax man) Stefano
Seedorf, striker Glen Salmon nicely headed home on a cross
from the right: 3-1 (81'). It seemed no more than a
late consolation goal, but - amazingly enough - Groningen came
close to an unlikely draw when a free-kick from Ajax loanee
Rasmus Lindgren was nodded past Stekelenburg at the
far post by Yevgeni Levchenko (89').
Ajax were forced to straighten their backs for a few more
minutes and the supporters at the ArenA shook their
heads in disapproval when Ajax started time-wasting
by protecting the ball near the corner flag. The
Amsterdammers didn't make the same naive mistakes that allowed
Den Haag to equalize in the 94th minute, back in September, but
it must be admitted: it was a rather disgraceful finish to a
game that Ajax seemed to have pocketed in such
convincing fashion. On the other hand: Groningen were never in
it until the 70th minute. The visitors did not deserve a
point over all -- plain and simple.
For Ajax, December 2005 has been an excellent month so far.
The much-discussed strikers started scoring
(Rosenberg netted four times in his last six league
games, Charisteas now has 'seven out of eight' this
season), Ajax remained upright at Arsenal (0-0), booked a big
win in the Gatorade Cup (1-6 at Eindhoven) and reverted to a
4-4-2 formation in the Eredivisie, with a series of four
straight wins as a result. One more game to go in 2005,
and it will be a very interesting one... Will Klaas Jan
Huntelaar play his last game for Heerenveen against
the team he will join officially less than two days
later? Fact is that Ajax lost three out of their last four
league games at Abe Lenstra Stadium. If they manage a win on
Friday, the dismal year of 2005 will end on a (relatively) high
note after all... (MP)
GOALS
- 07' 1-0 Markus Rosenberg
- 18' 2-0 Angelos Charisteas
- 67' 3-0 Angelos Charisteas
- 81' 3-1 Glen Salmon
- 89' 3-2 Yevgeni Levchenko
Referee: Koopman
Yellow cards: Matthijs, Van de Laak,
Roorda (FC Groningen)
Attendance: 48,547
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Trabelsi,
De Jong, Vermaelen, Juanfran; Rosales, Galásek,
Sneijder, Boukhari (73. Emanuelson); Rosenberg (78. Babel),
Charisteas.
FC Groningen line-up: Roorda;
Luirink, Kruiswijk, Van der Linden (67. Florén);
Lindgren, Matthijs, Buijs, Levchenko; Van de Laak (67.
Seedorf), Salmon, Cornelisse (41. Nevland).
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