Controversial AZ equalizer costs Ajax two vital points
1 (0) - 1
(0)
Eredivisie
DSB Stadium, Alkmaar
Sunday, 25 February, 2007
Ajax boss Henk ten Cate was outraged after AZ vs Ajax,
today's cracker in Alkmaar. After Edgar Davids had been sent
off just before half-time, Ajax took the lead with ten men
(goal from Kenneth Perez, 65'). AZ did not look like they were
going to equalize, but referee Jan Wegereef allowed Martens'
79th minute equalizer, despite a very clear Demy de Zeeuw foul
on goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg. Ajax lost two vital points
against what Henk ten Cate described as "FC Wegereef"...
How did it begin? Great atmosphere inside a packed-out
stadium. AZ took the field with three former Ajax stand-outs in
their squad: Tim de Cler, Nourdin Boukhari and of course Shota
Arveladze. And Ajax had their their own piece of AZ legacy in
Kenneth Perez, who got a rare start to square up against his
former team. Ajax take an unusual (and unusually offensive)
line-up at the start, with Edgar Davids filling in at left
fullback, a position of some trouble for Henk ten Cate's side
of late.
George Ogararu battles former
Ajax favorite Shota Arveladze. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
With a light but steady rain falling down on the pitch of
brand-new DSB Stadium, the game was high-energy and
entertaining from the very start. Knowing that no less than
three points would keep them in touch with PSV, both teams came
out with a fighting spirit and an eye toward goal. But Ajax
looked more likely to score, enjoying most of the possession
and creating the best early chances, including a
woodwork-rattling header by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Meanwhile, AZ
were quietly piling up corner kicks, but were unable to squeeze
any real danger out of them.
As the first half rumbled on, AZ began to recover their form
and put the visitors under some real pressure. And it was in
this middle phase that referee Jan Wegereef would begin to
'take over' the game. Two quick bookings for Wesley Sneijder
and Edgar Davids, the latter somewhat mysterious, set the tone.
And then Wegereef drove home the point in the final minute of
the first half when he issued a second yellow, this one clearly
more justified, to Davids for a clumsy tackle. Davids was off,
and Ajax would have to play the second 45 minutes with ten
men.
Davids is incredulous as Wegereef
shows him the second yellow followed by red. [Photo:
Ajax.nl]
And then, as if to further antagonize the Amsterdammers,
Wegereef blew for halftime just as Ajax were enthusiastically
pursuing a wide-open counter-attack with Wesley Sneijder as the
key figure. Ajax's impression of the 'man in black'
(even though he wore yellow...) would not improve in the
second half.
Ajax came out for the second half full of fighting spirit,
and you would hardly recognize that one team was playing a man
down. It was fast moving, evenly balanced and very entertaining
stuff.
When Ajax did score, it turned on a bit of fortune but was
nevertheless the result of sustained pressure. After an
intrepid run down the left wing by Huntelaar (what was he doing
out there?) his cross took a fortuitous deflection that fell at
the feet of Leonardo. The Brazilian did well to hold the ball
up and then play it off to an oncoming Kenneth Perez. The
Dane's skillful side-footed shot evaded Waterman and settled
cozily into the goal: 0-1 (65').
Perez's goal, against his former team, should be enough,
as Ajax were full of confidence, defending brilliantly,
and seemed on their way to three improbable points.
Kenneth Perez scores a deft and
seemingly decisive goal against his former club. [Photo:
Ajax.nl]
But then, in the 80th minute, the match (and quite possibly
Ajax's season) turned on an inexplicable referee's indecision.
An AZ cross from the right was loosely bumbled into the six
yard box. Stekelenburg came to claim it, and got his hands on
it just moments before AZ's Demy de Zeeuw crashed into him,
leg stretched and studs up, hitting Stekelenburg in the
stomach. It wasn't an overtly dirty (or even
intentional) foul, but a very clear one nevertheless. The
ball, kicked loose from the Ajax keeper's grip, was tapped in
by Maarten Maartens. The goal could not possibly stand. But, as
Wegereef quickly indicated, it would...
The Ajax players were, understandably, beside themselves.
Meanwhile, Stekelenburg was seriously banged up. It would take
several minutes to get him back up on his feet, but he managed
to continue and finish the match.
In the somewhat testy minutes that remained, several players
including Huntelaar and AZ's Vormer were booked, and each team
had chances to score a winning goal. Neither did, and Ajax were
left to ruminate over lost, arguably stolen points... (JM)
GOALS
- 65' 0-1 Kenneth Perez
- 79' 1-1 Maarten Martens
Referee: Wegereef
Yellow cards: Vormer (AZ), Stam, Gabri,
Sneijder, Babel, Huntelaar (Ajax)
Red card: Davids (Ajax, 'double yellow',
45')
Attendance: 16,000
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Ogararu
(62. Maduro), Stam, Heitinga, Davids; Gabri, Sneijder (46.
Grygera), Perez; Leonardo, Huntelaar, Babel.
AZ line-up: Waterman; De Cler, Donk,
Jaliens (55. Vormer), Steinsson; Boukhari (67. Martens), De
Zeeuw, Jenner (74. Lens); Arveladze, Dembele, Koevermans.
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