Sneijder makes the difference against NAC Breda: 1-2
1 (0) - 2
(0)
Eredivisie
Rat Verlegh Stadium, Breda
Sunday, 27 August, 2006
For 73 minutes NAC Breda vs Ajax was a near perfect carbon
copy of last Wednesday's traumatic
Champions League qualifier: a sovereign Ajax failed to
convert their chances in a fine first half, started
to play a bit sloppily after the break, then saw the
opposition convert their first real chance around the hour
mark - and started to play even more sloppily. The
difference with Wednesday? Simple: Wesley Sneijder. His goals
are always important and always beautiful.
Two mighty strikes by the little man from the edge of the
penalty area, in the latter twenty minutes of the game, gave
Ajax a victory that was hard-fought, but - all in all - totally
deserved: 1-2.
The NAC fixture was the game in which Ajax were supposed to
'wash away the bitter taste', but that's easier said than
done. How hard did FC København hit the
Ajacieden? Did they psychologically recover and
were they ready to go on with the show, with the
required spirit and freshness? One thing was already
certain when the Amsterdammers came out for their warming-up
exercises: some of Wednesday's most 'traumatized' boys were not
going to see action today. Hedwiges Maduro (heavily criticized
by the press in recent weeks), Urby Emanuelson (the man who
ushered the fatal FCK attack) and Thomas Vermaelen (scorer of
the decisive, tragic own goal) were not there. Did Henk ten
Cate drop them? Did he want to protect them? No, explained the
Ajax boss. Vermaelen is struggling with a persistent
Achilles' injury, Emanuelson had the flu and Maduro is simply
not fit enough for three games in eight days' time. Roger,
Ogararu and Lindenbergh replaced them, against an NAC side that
also used the week to come to terms with a painful defeat:
they were demolished by AZ last weekend (8-1).
Huntelaar was frustrated for the second straight game
- including from the penalty spot. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
Ajax did not look like a traumatized team in the first half.
Their passing was a bit slower than in their fine first half
against FCK and they didn't create as many chances, but they
were totally and utterly dominant in the first 45 minutes,
seemed solid at the back (NAC were never seriously dangerous)
and came very close to the opening goal on at least three
occasions. Ryan Babel had an unmarked header opportunity at the
far post on a Rosales cross, but goalkeeper Zoetebier
saved (22'). Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's pristine free-kick in
the 30th minute was superbly turned around the post by
Zoetebier and an attempt from Roger took a deflection and went
only just wide of its target (34').
It was a first half to be rather satisfied with, but
then again: only four days ago Ajax found out the hard way that
outplaying your opponent doesn't mean much if you fail to
score...
The weakest Ajacied from the first half (Mauro Rosales)
remained in the dressing-room for the second half. Kenneth
Perez was the new man and he changed positions with Ryan Babel,
who moved to the right flank. It didn't improve things. Ajax
allowed NAC a couple of corner kicks and the travelling
Amsterdam fans started to wonder: why do Ajax, after a good
first half, have so much trouble keeping it up in the
second...? All of a sudden they seemed poorly concentrated. All
of a sudden they seemed so slow and tepid. All of a sudden
there were tiny little mistakes and sloppy passes. And: all of
a sudden there was a goal. At the other end, that is.
Feyenoord's Brazilian enfant terrible of
yesteryear, Leonardo, was on the pitch for only two minutes
when he somehow fumbled the ball past Jaap Stam, offering
Edwin de Graaf the chance to diagonally beat Stekelenburg: 1-0
(63'). It was NAC's first chance of the game. An
undeserved lead, in a way, although - in the minutes prior
to the goal - Ajax had it coming.
John Heitinga headed home only a minute after NAC's opening
goal, but referee Jan Wegereef disallowed it - and he was
correct: Heitinga was very clearly off-side when Klaas-Jan
Huntelaar flicked the incoming cross on to him. For ten minutes
it seemed like (recent...) history was going to repeat itself.
The team seemed unable to pick themselves up and battle for the
equalizer. NAC's goal, which was scored against the run of
play, seemed to have hit them hard. Ajax were struggling, in
spite of good work by Angelos Charisteas, who - in
all honesty - performed better
than Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who had a very tough
afternoon against NAC's physically strong Rob Penders and
Patrick Zwaanswijk. To make matters worse, referee
Wegereef refused to give the two defenders an early
booking for their constant pushing and pulling. "Huntelaar is
entering a new phase in his development," said Henk ten Cate
after the game. "There is nothing wrong with his form or
anything like that, but Klaas will have to get used to the fact
that every opponent focuses on him now. They don't want him to
score. He will have to make 'pre-actions' from now
on."
A goal down and only fifteen minutes to go... it would
have been seriously worrying, but 'KJH' is not the only
Ajacied who has the pleasant habit of scoring fantastic,
liberating goals when it matters most. In the 73rd munute
Wesley Sneijder got the ball and he did what he does best: a
dribble, a turn, a stunning diagonal strike into the top corner
- and the score was level. Wesley Sneijder has scored many
vital goals like that (remember Graz,
Prague and
Brøndby, and more recently
Inter...) and he makes it look so simple that
you'd like to ask him why he doesn't score like a couple
of goals like that every week...
Ajax were back in the driver's seat, if only because NAC
Breda were visibly getting exhausted. An Ajax win was in the
air and it seemed like Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was going to score
the match winner after all, when Angelos Charisteas turned away
from his defender in the 80th minute, and was brought down from
behind: penalty, decided Wegereef, but Huntelaar failed from
the spot. It would be a bit of an exaggeration to say that the
striker is having a crisis, but fact is that he didn't score in
his last three games and missed his last two
penalties (he also missed one against Manchester United at the
Amsterdam Tournament).
Edwin Zoetebier's save gave NAC some last power and was also
the ultimate test for Ajax: could they handle yet another
setback, pick themselves up and go for the win in the latter
ten minutes of the encounter? The man to answer that question
was, once again, Wesley Sneijder, who picked up the ball in
midfield, dribbled to the edge of the box, didn't meet an
opponent and pulled the trigger for a well-aimed shot that
wasn't as spectacular as the first, but equally effective: 1-2
(84'). Three points after all, which was great news on a
Sunday afternoon on which PSV lost (1-0 at Twente) and
Feyenoord drew at home (0-0 with Heracles).
Sneijder's two goals saved Ajax from a second
humiliation in a week's time. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
"We totally deserved this one at the end of the day,"
said Henk ten Cate. "NAC were well organized and very
disciplined: they made the spaces very small for us. But
upfront they really didn't do anything. Only one team
wanted to play football today, and that team
was Ajax."
For what it's worth: AZ, Heerenveen, Ajax and Roda JC are
the only four teams to have won their first two games of the
season. PSV are 7th and three points behind Ajax,
while Feyenoord are 15th with only one point. It will
stay like that for two weeks, until Ajax vs Vitesse on 10
September. Next weekend it's time for some Euro 2008
qualifiers. (MP)
GOALS
- 63' 1-0 Edwin de Graaf
- 73' 1-1 Wesley Sneijder
- 84' 1-2 Wesley Sneijder
Referee: Wegereef
Yellow cards: Elshot, Tamerus, Diba,
Penders, De Graaf, Leonardo, Zwaanswijk (NAC Breda), Stam,
Ogararu, Heitinga (Ajax)
Attendance: 15,432
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Ogararu,
Stam, Heitinga, Lindenbergh; Gabri (74. Charisteas), Roger (63.
Emanuelson), Sneijder; Rosales (46. Perez), Huntelaar,
Babel.
NAC Breda line-up: Zoetebier;
Elshot, Penders (81. Petö), Zwaanswijk, Mtiliga (72.
Stam); De Graaf, Van Gessel, Zonneveld; Diba, Tamerus (61.
Leonardo), Rigters.
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