Satisfactory start to 2nd half of season: 2-0
2 (2) - 0 (0)
Eredivisie
Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam
Sunday, 21 January, 2006
Why was the mood in the Amsterdam ArenA so subdued prior to
today's start of the season's second half? It definitely had to
do with the fact that the FC Utrecht support had decided to
'boycott' the fixture, so that there was only an
empty visitors end to sing to. But perhaps it was also the
inescapable truth that the Eredivisie title is already out of
reach, with PSV 14 points (at kick-off) ahead of
Ajax. The best Ajax could do was to win the game they
had in hand - and make that 11.
Or maybe it was the weight of questions surrounding
this Ajax team as they entered the pitch to
face rivals FC Utrecht. Would they come out
re-invigorated, having broken free from their end-of-2006
form, which saw them collapse spectacularly at Vitesse and mope
to an unimpressive draw at NEC? Would Henk ten Cate abandon the
revered 4-3-3 system in favor of something more suited to
Christmas signing Leonardo? And would the mercurial Brazilian
see action from the start?
Answers to those three questions, at least initially, was
no, no... and no.
Ajax came out in a 'classic' 3-4-3, with Johnny
Heitinga as the defensive man on a 'diamond-shaped' midfield.
Leonardo stayed on the bench, in favor of Tom de Mul and Ryan
Babel providing wing support to Klaas-Jan Huntelaar up front.
And they certainly looked anything but stable and strong in the
opening moments, conceding a corner kick in the first minute
and then looking a shambles as they luckily cleared the ball
out of their own six-yard box moments later.
Fortunately for Ajax, the visitors from Utrecht just didn't
have either the luck or quality to put them under the sword for
their early nervousness. And inevitably, the home side began to
settle themselves and take over the match. The first chance for
Ajax came in the 8th minute, and it was a solid-gold one that
ought to have opened the scoring. Utrecht goalkeeper Michel
Vorm saved brilliantly but also, it must be said, luckily on
Huntelaar's close-range blast from the first of many fine De
Mul crosses.
The visitors' luck didn't last. Three minutes later,
Heitinga finished a nice bit of interplay between De Mul and
Gabri by blasting calmly and precisely into the left
corner (with his unfavored left foot!): 1-0 (11').
John Heitinga opened the
scoring for Ajax. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
And it wasn't undeserved. Ajax had been slowly awakening
after the tragicomic first minutes. By now, more goals seemed
inevitable, and indeed, the second one came just ten
minutes later. Again, it was a great finish that followed fine
team play. After some careful build-up by Ajax, Wesley Sneijder
played a give-and-go with Ryan Babel. Sneijder's perfectly
executed right-footed blast from the left side smacked the
inside of the far post and left Vorm with absolutely no
chance.
2-0 after 21 minutes at the ArenA, against a bottom-half of
the table team. Match over? In years past you'd think so, but
Ajax had looked remarkably fragile many times in the first half
of the season. Would they keep it together today?
The answer: yes, no problem. FC Utrecht simply lacked the
quality to drag themselves back into the match. Ajax seemed
safe for the remainder of the first half. But despite the lead,
and the unthreatening opponent, the mood inside the stadium
remained remarkably subdued. It was indeed pretty dull stuff,
as a capable but slightly jittery Ajax defense seemed content
to neutralize an ineffectual Utrecht attack. Absolutely nobody
could be surprised that it remained 2-0 at halftime.
Tom de Mul played another excellent match on the right wing
for Ajax. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
In the second half, the visitors showed a bit more
commitment, at least at the start. And Ajax again,
briefly, looked slightly capable of crumbling. A fantastic
save from Maarten Stekelenburg was required after Ajax gave
away a dangerous free kick in the 53rd minute.
But after that cloud had passed there was very little to
threaten the home side, who created two or three chances
at the other end themselves in the second half. Meanwhile,
Leonardo was warming up on the sidelines. He would enter the
game a few minutes later, replacing Ryan Babel in attack. There
were four substitutions in all in the vicinity of 60 minutes.
In addition to Leonardo, Ajax brought on Ogararu for
Gabri, as Utrecht brought on two attacking players (Peter
Kopteff and Jari Valentijn) in favor of defenders (Etienne
Shew-Atjon and Joost Broerse).
And it was also around this time that the ArenA crowd
finally began to feel secure in the three points. Leonardo
created enough danger and distraction that the visitors could
never organize anything meaningful in attack. In fact, it was a
quite satisfactory league début for the Brazilian: he
seemed immediately dangerous and hooked up well with his new
teammates in attack.
Leonardo scraps with FC Utrecht
defender in his official Ajax début. [Photo:
Ajax.nl]
A brief period of real excitement culminated when Tom De Mul
blasted an easy chance well over the bar (after good work from
Leonardo) and up into the F-Side stand. The young Belgian, who
otherwise played excellently and was voted Man of the Match,
should certainly have made it 3-0. By this point, FC Utrecht
seemed to have given up, and Ajax grew
increasingly content to lay back, hold possession, and
defend. The second half ended with a truly innocuous spell of
football, much like the first half had done.
There were no revelations for Ajax fans today. But neither
was there a collapse, or anything near to it. Ajax earned,
created and held their first-half lead in highly capable
fashion. Moreover, Leonardo played well in his
début, while his former team-mates of NAC Breda gave
Feyenoord a painful spanking in Breda (4-1). With the three
points, Ajax leapfrogged AZ again, to regain second place.
Indeed, there was enough to be happy about, although - with PSV
now 11 points ahead of all chasers - Ajax will have to
content themselves with battling the Alkmaar side for second
place. (JM)
GOALS
- 11' 1-0 John Heitinga
- 21' 2-0 Wesley Sneijder
Referee: Bossen
Yellow cards: Vermaelen (Ajax), Pieters
(FC Utrecht)
Attendance: 44,740
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Grygera,
Stam, Vermaelen; Gabri (64. Ogararu), Heitinga, Sneijder,
Emanuelson (76. Lindenbergh); De Mul, Huntelaar, Babel (56.
Leonardo).
FC Utrecht line-up: Vorm; Cornelisse,
Pieters, Broerse (60. Kopteff), Shew-Atjon (62.
Valentijn); Kruys, Van Dijk, Caluwé (78. De
Jong), Somers; Nelisse, Fortuné.
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