Manchester United beat Ajax 0-1 to win rough Amsterdam Tournament
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Amsterdam Tournament
Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam
Saturday, 05 August, 2006
Despite knowing that a 3-0 win over Manchester United would
be enough to give Ajax this year's trophy, coach Henk ten Cate
(as in the first match) decided to field a team with a thought
to Wednesday night's crucial first leg Champions League
qualifier at FC Copenhagen.
Ajax had no less than 8 changes from yesterday's game
against Inter, with only Stekelenburg, Vertonghen and
Perez (who despite yesterday's slightly off game was given the
captain's armband) getting another start. Defensive stalwart
Stam, new signing Gabri and yesterday's goal hero Sneijder
weren't even listed on the bench. For Manchester United, there
was no Rooney or Scholes (both picking up red cards on day one,
against FC Porto).
Despite playing in front of a noisy crowd at an almost full
Arena, the first 20 minutes of the game had a similar feel to
yesterday's. There was some fluid passing by Ajax, but it
soon became obvious that this game would also have something in
common with the Inter clash: Ajax again failed to create any
real chances early on.
There were only two noticeable moments in the
early exchanges. The first was Heitinga's left footer from
outside the box, which lacked any real venom and went well
wide. The other was for Manchester United, being a somewhat
worrying knock picked up by new signing Carrick. After the game
Manchester United's boss Sir Alex Fergusson confirmed an ankle
injury and stated that Carrick "will be out for a few weeks".
It's probably safe to say these few games probably weren't the
happiest of the United boss' career.
It wasn't until the 21st min that any real chance fell to
either side. Vertonghen's foul on Martin on the edge of the box
gave Giggs the chance to fire in a shot that hit the cross bar
with Stekelenburg well beaten. Ajax should have taken note of
this effort by Giggs, because it wouldn't be his
last…
For a few minutes after Giggs' shot, the game sprung
(somewhat) to life and Ajax started to attack. Manucharyan
showed some glimpses of what made him Armenian player of the
year at the age of 17, with some neat little flicks and
step-overs to the delight of the crowd. But frustratingly,
nothing significant materialized for the home side.
Manucharyan had some impressive touches. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
Meanwhile, Manchester United were still creating the best
chances. In the 29th minute a free kick on the edge of the box,
which Giggs took quickly, hit the post and then amazingly the
ball bounced directly onto Stekelenbug's right leg. From here
the ball proceeded to go directly into the oncoming Rossi whose
low shot was this time brilliantly kept out by the Ajax keeper
with a great dive to the right. Not a minute later Giggs (yet
again) had a free header which he put well over the bar.
It wasn't until the 33rd minute that Ajax even looked like
they could score. Heitinga appeared to have converted after a
great cross from Perez, with a flick on from Manucharyan. The
crowd roared, Heitinga ran off in delight. However replays
confirmed the assistant referee's decision that Heitinga's
diving header was offside. No goal.
For the second half, Ten Cate removed Manucharyan and
Vertonghen for Vermaelen and Huntelaar respectively, while
Stekelenburg was replaced with youth product Kenneth
Vermeer.
Roger returned from a toe injury to play in the second half.
[Photo: Ajax.nl]
The opening 15 minutes of the second half were a more open
affair, with Vermaelen requiring a fine save needed by ex Ajax
hero Edwin van der Sar. Ajax seemed much sharper and slightly
more aggressive, but the Ajax forwards were still
struggling to make any real impact on the game, and so it was
left to the midfielders to show how it's done. A great run and
pass from Perez let Maduro skip beautifully past the United
defense and into the box, where he was then tackled by
Miller and… penalty! Replays seemed to confirm the
(slight) touch on Maduro, but didn't Miller get the ball?
Irrelevant.
Up steps none other than 'The Hunter'. It was to be the new
Ajax hero against former Ajax legend Van der Sar. A shot to the
left and van der Sar showed why he is still Holland's and Man
U's #1 with an amazing save to his right. Surely this was noted
by the on-looking Van Basten and co.
After transfer-listed Charisteas came on for Rosenberg, Ajax
tried to push a little more with a half chance to Huntelaar.
From Ajax's 6th corner of the night, Vermaelen headed over the
bar. It was from here, however, that Ajax seemed to be starting
a period of sloppiness which was capped off by Heitinga's
professional foul on Rossi on the edge of the box. Yellow
card for Heitinga, but worse was to come with a free kick in a
dangerous area, to be taken by Giggs.
Giggs' shot again hit the bar (were bar and ball
magnetically charged tonight...?) and in the frantic few
seconds it took for Vermeer to attempt to clear the ball, Giggs
ran off arms in the air: goal given. The replay seemed to
show that Giggs' shot had indeed crossed the line: 0-1. If
Ajax had any chance to hold aloft the trophy (some might say it
was gone well before this moment), it had vanished with this
goal.
Giggs with the trophy. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
For the remaining 10 minutes of the game the Ajax defense
were at 6s and 7s. Missing Stam? No doubt about it. There was
the odd chance or two for the home side from Huntelaar and
then Roger right at the death. It wasn't to be. Ajax would
finish last in their own tournament.
Positives? A few. Sneijder's wonderful strike against Inter,
Stam showing he should prove a great purchase and mentor for
the squad, and the occasional glimpse of some nice, quick, neat
passing. But in truth Ajax lacked imagination in the final
third and at times were outplayed.
What do we make of this squad based on these few games? Hard
to say. Never did Ajax really have their best eleven out
on the park at any one given time and it was obvious
that Henk ten Cate and his men had one eye on
the upcoming Champions League qualifier in Denmark. But it
must be said that the lack of true scoring chances throughout
both games is a worry.
But is the Ajax boss concerned? "Are we ready for Wednesday?
If you have seen the second half yesterday, you know the answer
to that.'' Really? We'll know the answer Wednesday night...
(Daniel Noppert)
GOALS
Referee: Vink
Yellow cards: Vertonghen, Vermaelen
(Ajax)
Attendance: 44,000
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg (46. Vermeer);
Heitinga, Grygera, Lindenbergh, Schilder; Maduro (70. Roger),
Perez, Vertonghen (46. Vermaelen); Rosales, Rosenberg (64.
Charisteas), Manucharyan (46. Huntelaar).
Manchester United line-up: Van der Sar;
Simpsons, Evans, Brown, Richardson; Miller (71. Bardsley),
Fletcher, Carrick (62. Martin), Park (84. Jones); Rossi,
Giggs.
Other Day 2 result: FC Porto -
Internazionale 2-3
Final
Table
1. Manchester United: 10
points
2. FC Internazionale: 8 points
3. FC Porto: 3 points
4. Ajax: 2 points
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