Ajax suffer first league defeat at solid Roda: 2-0
2 (1) - 0 (0)
Eredivisie
Parkstad Limburg Stadium, Kerkrade
Sunday, 17 September, 2006
"We deserved this defeat. We lost to a Roda team that
was simply more aggressive than us," said Ajax boss Henk
ten Cate, just before Ajax travelled back to Amsterdam -
with zero points, just like
last season. Ten Cate's analysis summed it all up: Ajax
lost (2-0) to a Roda JC team that simply wanted it
more. The yellow and black from the province of Limburg
traditionally have physically strong teams, and this
year's squad is no exception: they were pugnacious,
well-organized, rock-solid at the back and - most
importantly - effective upfront. Roda totally deserved their
triumph. Ajax's first Eredivisie defeat of the 2006-2007
campaign is a fact.
Only three days ago, immediately after an aloof Ajax team
had brought themselves into trouble against
IK Start, Ten Cate spoke some wise words: "Quality can only
be the decisive factor if you work just as hard as the
opposition." It must have annoyed the Ajax boss that his
players made the same mistake again: they did not enter the
pitch with the fighting spirit, the focus and the determination
that may be expected from a professional football team. 'Roda
away' is always a tough one for Ajax, but the team
didn't seem to expect any difficulties - and that is precisely
the reason why they immediately got into trouble. Only nine
minutes had ticked away when Adil Ramzi's free kick landed at
the far post, where right fullback Davy de
Fauw tapped home, as free as a bird: 1-0.
Mauro Rosales continued his struggle again in Kerkrade...
[Photo: Ajax.nl]
Roda's opening goal was almost identical to, for
example, FC København's first goal at the Amsterdam
Arena, on
23 August. Johnny Heitinga looked particularly bad, but he
wasn't the only Ajax defender who forgot to mark his man
properly. Also: goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg is a
tall bloke, but he always seems to hesitate (and in most cases
stays on the line) on high crosses or free kicks flying
into the goalmouth. Ajax are shockingly vulnerable on free
kicks of this kind, despite the presence of Jaap Stam. It was
only one of the reasons why the team looked bad in the
first half hour in Kerkrade.
The 'Spanish Inquisition' in midfield (Gabri and Roger) made
a fine impression in recent weeks, but had a complete off-day
against Roda. Ten Cate had no other cohoice than to take the
two struggling Spaniards off. Olaf Lindenbergh and Michael
Krohn-Dehli (his official Ajax-1 début!) replaced them
and did better (Ten Cate referred to Lindenbergh's convincing
performance as "the only highlight of the day"), but they,
too, were unable to make a difference. Meanwhile, the two
wingers of Ten Cate's choice were failing as well. Mauro
Rosales' good form of the season's first weeks seems to have
disappeared completely, whereas Ryan Babel deserves some credit
for constantly taking on his man (at least he
tried...), but the battle between Babel and De
Fauw was won by the latter.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, meanwhile, was possibly
the weakest Ajacied on the day, if only because he was
marked by the two Roda giants who battled for the 'Man of the
Match' title: central defenders Pa Madouh Kah and Jan-Paul
Saeijs. They were unbeatable in the air and on the
ground. They sometimes fouled Huntelaar by pulling his shirt,
but they were never unacceptably dirty: the heaviest foul
was actually committed by the Ajax striker, who was booked by
Flemish referee De Bleeckere for shamelessly mowing dowm
Kah from behind. It was, very clearly, a foul out of pure
frustration.
In 93 minutes of football at Parkstad Limburg Stadium, Ajax
almost completely failed to create serious scoring chances. The
only phase in which an Ajax goal seemed close was the latter
ten minutes of the first half, in which Ajax put Roda under
pressure, got a series of corner kicks to take and came
close to scoring from long range a few times. Wesley Sneijder's
near-perfect screamer hit the post (37'), whereas goalkeeper
Kujovic turned attempts from Ryan Babel (38') and Klaas-Jan
Huntelaar (41') around the post in spectacular fashion.
Even Jaap Stam had a bit of an off-day against Roda. [Photo:
Ajax.nl]
Ajax's play slightly improved in the second
half, but it must be said: the Amsterdammers were hardly ever
dangerous. Kah and Saeijs were never seriously
worried. "Henk ten Cate just told me that he was
impressed with our spirit and determination," said
Roda boss Huub Stevens after the game. "That is the
biggest compliment he can give us. As for Ajax:
they didn't seem to have that freshness today." The reason
for that...? Thursday's UEFA Cup fixture is hardly an excuse,
for the simple reason that Ajax didn't exactly give everything
in Norway, either...
Roda did not create too many chances, either, but they made
the most out of the ones they had. In the 65th minute the Ajax
defenders were once again collectively daydreaming when
Roda got a free kick just outside of the penalty area.
Boldizsár Bodor gave a simple thru-pass and there was
striker Andres Oper, totally unmarked, on a free passage to
Maarten Stekelenburg: 2-0 (65'). Two free-kicks, two moments of
collective inattention, two Roda goals... How amateurish.
"We only have ourselves to blame," said Ajax captain Jaap
Stam after the game. "Our start was very weak indeed. Of
course we tried to turn things around, but by
starting so poorly we more or less helped Roda on their
way. We created our own difficulties. It's a matter of taking
responsibility. Each and every one of us will have
to look at his own performance."
The NAC and Vitesse games were promising, the performances
against IK Start and Roda JC rather worrying. Henk ten
Cate's Ajax play better football than Danny Blind's, but
the team is still inconsistent and fickle. Ten Cate:
"Especially if the opposition come up with something we didn't
expect. The team must learn to react to those
situations and do something about it. That is difficult. It
still has to grow."
A team can only grow by playing games. Luckily for Ajax, the
next two should, normally, be considerably easier
than 'Roda away'. On Wednesday the Amsterdammers travel to
Waalwijk for a KNVB Cup fixture against the RKC reserves
team. Next Sunday, NEC will visit the ArenA. The Nijmegen
side have only one point and are currently 17th
on the Eredivisie table. As for Ajax: they have nine out
of four, just like Heerenveen and PSV (the reigning
champions beat Feyenoord in Eindhoven:
2-1). Three teams gathered ten points out of the
first four games and are - for now - Holland's league
leaders: AZ, FC Groningen and - good for them -
Roda JC. (MP)
GOALS
- 09' 1-0 Davy de Fauw
- 65' 2-0 Andres Oper
Referee: De Bleeckere (Belgium)
Yellow cards: Bodor (Roda JC), Stam,
Gabri, Huntelaar, Lindenbergh (Ajax)
Attendance: 15,000
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Heitinga
(75. Perez), Stam, Vermaelen, Emanuelson; Gabri (64.
Krohn-Dehli), Roger (46. Lindenbergh), Sneijder; Rosales,
Huntelaar, Babel.
Roda JC line-up: Kujovic; De Fauw
(79. Senden), Saeijs, Kah, De Jong; Agustien, Meeuwis, Bodor
(71. Lachambre); Vandamme (90+2. Van Tornhout), Oper,
Ramzi.
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