Ajax vs Den Haag: three points and that's about it
2 (2) - 0 (0)
Eredivisie
Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam
Wednesday, 25 October, 2006
Not every game can be as spectacular as
Utrecht vs Ajax and not every win can be
as whopping as last Sunday's 0-4 over
Feyenoord. Ajax's midweek home fixture against lowly ADO
Den Haag (who gathered only one point so far) was a 'must
win', precisely in between last Sunday's 'Classic' and
Saturday's traditionally tough trip to
Heerenveen. Ajax did the business and pocketed the
three points - and not much more than that: 2-0.
Henk ten Cate would probably deny it and
explain once more that he doesn't believe in a
fixed 'starting eleven', but it is no coincidence
that the Ajax boss decided to rest his captain, Jaap Stam,
against the yellow and green from The Hague. On Sunday
Stam picked up a knock on a
muscle which made his leg senseless for
a while. It wasn't really an injury (Stam was alright the
next day), but against the Eredivisie's least productive
side (5 goals) Ten Cate could confidently give
his skipper the night off, also because a yellow card
against Den Haag would have ruled Stam out of Saturday's
Heerenveen game. Stam seized the opportunity and visited
the F-Side during the game to shake some hands, chat with his
supporters and take some pictures with them. A wonderful
gesture. Hedwiges Maduro was also left out of the
squad by Ten Cate.
Gabri is happy with his opening goal, the Spaniard's second
for Ajax. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
Ajax's start was alright, albeit a bit slow and
tepid, just like the atmosphere at the nearly full ArenA.
Ajax vs ADO Den Haag could hardly be described as a grudge
game, as there were no away supporters on the stands.
Ajax and ADO Den Haag will leave their fans at home for at
least three seasons, due to the hooligan attack on Den Haag's
clubhouse, in February of this year.
There were some tiny little chances for Ajax in the first
half hour (header from Huntelaar, dangerous one-two by 'KJH'
and Gabri), but the first real chance of the encounter
was created by the visitors: Saïd Bakkati showed up in
front of Maarten Stekelenburg in the 22nd minute, but the angle
was tight and Bakkati's attempt only hit the side netting.
After 30 minutes of football, the spectators were
waiting for the game to come to life and for Ajax to
seriously grab the visitors by the throat. Two minutes
later Ajax had pretty much won the game. In the 30th
minute, a Kenneth Perez thru-ball gave Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
a free passage. Goalkeeper Robert Zwinkels denied the striker,
but the rebound was a piece of cake for Gabri, who tapped
the ball into the empty net: 1-0 (30'). Less than 100 seconds
later Wesley Sneijder was launched by Tom De Mul in almost
identical fashion as Huntelaar for the opening goal. Sneijder,
too, was denied by Zwinkels. This time, the midfielder could
convert the rebouncing ball himself, with a simple nod: 2-0
(32').
Grygera battles former Ajax man Michael Mols for an aerial
ball. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
Game over? It seemed so, but Ajax thought exactly the same
thing
last season. Then, too, Ajax put a
comfortable score of 2-0 on the boards around the
half-hour mark, but ADO Den Haag stunned the ArenA by scoring
twice in stoppage time of the second half. That didn't happen
this time, but it must be said: the visitors weren't that bad.
In the remaining 60 minutes of football they created some of
the best chances of the evening, including a huge one for Ferry
Bodde (38'), who - much to his own surprise - wasn't
attacked as he rushed towards the Ajax goal. His shot had
to be cleared off the line by a sliding Johnny
Heitinga.
At the other end Klaas-Jan Huntelaar elicited 'ooohhs and
aaahhs' from the stands by trying a spectacular bicycle kick on
a George Ogararu cross from the right (44'). His attempt went
well wide of the top corner, but it was a beautiful moment. The
man responsible for a few more moments of great beauty was Tom
De Mul, who was one of Ajax's best in De Kuip and impressed
once again against ADO Den Haag. In the 41st minute, for
example, De Mul beautifully chipped the ball over the head his
defender before turning around and storming past him. Well,
okay: Bakkati corrected and won the ball back, but that's a
detail...
The first half wasn't overly exciting, but there were nice
moments and the quality of Ajax's play was, over all,
acceptable. This changed after the break. In the second half,
Ajax vs ADO Den Haag slowly turned into a yawn-fest of a
football game, in which hardly anything noteworthy happened.
The best chance of the second half once again fell to ADO Den
Haag, but Maarten Stekelenburg saved well on Tininho's 71st
minute attempt. The first (and last) noteworthy Ajax attacks of
the evening followed in the 86th and 91st minutes: a beautiful
bicycle kick from substitute Mauro Rosales and a good shot from
Wesley Sneijder, turned around the post by Zwinkels.
Indeed: this time Ajax did not allow ADO Den Haag
to turn the game upside down in injury time. There was no way.
The Amsterdammers' win was pale and everything but
impressive, but supporters can live with
that when things go well.
"I am glad we grabbed the three points, but that's about
it," said Henk ten Cate after the game. "Too many of our people
were simply not in it this evening. Which is a shame, in a home
match. After the Feyenoord game people came to the ArenA with
certain expectations, but what they got was a disappointing
Ajax performance. It says a lot that Maarten Stekelenburg was
voted Man of the Match. My central defenders, Heitinga and
Grygera, did well also. And I thought Tom De Mul was
very good. The rest were below par."
It was, indeed, a game to forget. Three points pocketed,
Ajax still tops. Roll on Heerenveen. (MP)
GOALS
- 30' 1-0 'Gabri' García de la
Torre
- 32' 2-0 Wesley Sneijder
Referee: Wegereef
Yellow cards: Ogararu, Grygera (Ajax),
Vreven, Bodde (ADO Den Haag)
Attendance: 45,757
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Ogararu,
Heitinga, Grygera, Emanuelson; Gabri (49. Vermaelen), Roger
(69. Rosenberg), Sneijder; De Mul (77. Rosales), Huntelaar,
Perez.
ADO Den Haag line-up: Zwinkels; Vreven,
Kum, Bunjevcevic, Bakkati; Schwiebbe, Knopper (66. Rankovic),
Bodde, Tininho (77. Verhoek); Elia, Mols (61. Kolk).
Related links
