Tricky mission ahead after 1-0 stumble in Heerenveen
1 (1) - 0 (0)
Eredivisie Play-Offs, First Round
Abe Lenstra Stadium, Heerenveen
Wednesday, 09 May, 2007
May an exhausting and nerve-racking
cup final of 120 minutes plus a shoot-out of 16 penalties
be an excuse for a tepid and apathetic performance in one of
the most important games of the season...? The players of SC
Heerenveen, Ajax's opponent in the first round of the
Eredivisie play-offs, had the weekend off while Ajax 'went to
war' at De Kuip, but one day before the match Heerenveen coach
Gert-Jan Verbeek made clear that it would be a lame excuse from
Ajax: "Come on, gimme a break. Of course Ajax will be
fit enough for a top performance in Heerenveen. They're all
young lads and top professional athletes. They should be able
to play 90 minutes of football three days after their last
match."
Perhaps Verbeek was right, but fact is that Ajax looked
extremely tired and washed-out at Abe Lenstra Stadium, where
they suffered a defeat (1-0) that makes the return leg at the
Amsterdam ArenA an extremely tricky one indeed: if Heerenveen
manage to notch one goal in the capital, Ajax will require
three. And Heerenveen can score at the ArenA:
the Frisian outfit actually won two out of their last three
Eredivisie matches at Ajax's home ground (the third was a 0-0
draw... Conclusion: Ajax will have to be good on
Sunday...
Having said that: everything is still possible at the ArenA.
Ajax are still very much alive, for which they should be
thankful. It would be a bit of an exaggeration to say that
Heerenveen outplayed Ajax, but the hosts were most definitely
the more energetic, more determined and more dangerous side on
the night - and this was the case for the full 90 minutes.
Heerenveen showed better football, they had better chances,
they won more duels and (a very rare thing, even in Ajax's
weakest games) they had slightly more possession than the
Amsterdammers (53%-47%), who were never really in the game and
could easily have faced a larger deficit after one leg.
Ajax, who were without Gabri (suspended) and reverted to a
4-3-3 formation with Tom De Mul returning to the starting
line-up, created precisely two chances in 90 minutes' time,
perhaps even as little as 'one and a half' chance. The 'half
chance' came in the 22nd minute, when Wesley Sneijder's perfect
cross from the right flank landed on Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's
forehead. 'KJH' was right in front of goal and totally
unmarked, but Sneijder's cross was just too high for
the striker to nod it into the right direction. Ajax's biggest
scoring chance of the game was missed by Tom De Mul (39'). The
right winger only had to tap Ryan Babel's low cross from the
left against the net at the far post, but he managed to lift it
over the cross-bar. An absolute sitter, and Ajax's only
clear-cut scoring opportunity in 90 minutes of football.
At this point, Ajax were a goal down already. Heerenveen had
been threatening a couple of times in the opening phase and
took the lead when Pranjic launched Afonso Alves from midfield.
The Brazilian striker, who scored 34 goals this season, is
notorious for always firing on target, but this time
he nicely pulled the ball back to Lasse Nilsson, who flicked it
on. Maarten Stekelenburg, who had chosen position at the near
post, could only watch as the ball trickled into the net: 1-0
(18').
Wesley Sneijder tackles Nilsson. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
It would turn out to be the only goal of the game, but the
most dangerous moments before and after the break came
from the hosts. Alves' 37th free-kick from more than 25 yards
out bounced into the crowd via the cross-bar. In the second
half, Maarten Stekelenburg 'survived' no less than two
face-to-face encounters with a Heerenveen player. The Ajax
keeper saved tremendously well when Lasse Nilsson (61') and
later Jakob Poulsen (80'). Indeed, the Frisians could have sent
Ajax home with a defeat of 2-0 or 3-0. Kenneth Perez's header
in the last minute went just over the cross-bar, but could
hardly be described as a serious scoring chance: goalkeeper
Vandenbussche would have caught the ball with ease, had it been
necessary. The Heerenveen keeper had a quiet evening: a
real save was never necessary.
Stam's frustration is obvious. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
Ajax boss Henk ten Cate had to admit that his team shouldn't
complain. "This was a very difficult evening. Heerenveen could
have won by a bigger score, you have to be honest about that."
Added Klaas-Jan Huntelaar: "We had a hard time. The legs didn't
do what the mind wanted. It will have to be better on Sunday.
That's when this encounter will be decided."
Very true.
"It's going to be one difficult job," concluded Ten Cate.
"But also one we're very confident about." (MP)
GOALS
Referee: Van Hulten
Yellow cards: Sneijder, Davids, Ogararu
(Ajax), Hanssen (SC Heerenveen)
Attendance: 23,500
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Ogararu, Stam,
Vermaelen, Emanuelson; Heitinga, Sneijder, Davids; De Mul (71.
Perez), Huntelaar, Babel (85. Mitea).
SC Heerenveen line-up: Vandenbussche;
Zuiverloon, Breuer, Dingsdag, Jong-A-Pin; Poulsen (85.
Johnson), Bosvelt, Hansse; Pranjic (86. Johansen), Alves,
Nilsson (84. Bradley).
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