Ajax start nervous, finish strong... and win
| 4 (2) |
2 (1) |
Eredivisie
Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam
Sunday, 04 Nov 2007
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Luque teamed up well with Suarez and continued to impress. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
It was an exciting, highly entertaining and downright nerve-wracking match, one that saw both teams taking chances and pressing for goals. Ajax played with energy from the outset, but it was a nervous and sketchy energy that almost cost them dearly. The first real chance fell to Roda JC after just two minutes, when Oper hit the side netting on a close-in volley that he really should have put on target. One minute later, and Roda had the first of several corner kicks.
The visitors would continue to pressure the Ajax goal for much of the opening phase. But a combination of energy, luck, poor finishing and quality keeping by Stekelenburg denied them. And after this initial phase, the quality of Ajax began to tell. Somewhere around the fifth minute, the game seemed to be turning toward the hosts. But then, just when Ajax began looking comfortable, Roda caught them out on the break. A perfect cross by Cisse was amazingly left untouched by Lamah in front of goal. Moments later, a whipped in cross was headed just wide by Tioté. It was not the only time Roda would fail to convert an easy chance.
Again: Not terribly impressive by either team -- scattered defending by Ajax matched by wasteful finishing by Roda -- but wonderfully entertaining play by both teams, the sort of game that would hold even the most casual fan's interest. The first solid-gold chance for Ajax came in the 15th minute, when a marvelously flighted free kick by Luque was headed just wide by Klaas Jan Huntelaar.
A few minutes later, Suarez beat his markers and dribbled into the box. When he attempted a shot instead of playing it back to an unmarked Huntelaar, the Ajax captain snapped at Suarez, who responded in kind, a reaction that can't help but lend support to the rumor that these two strikers don't get on. This little sub-plot would take an even saucier turn in the second half...
But first, the remainder of the first half was increasingly dominated by Ajax. Sustained pressure paid dividend in the 22nd minute, when an efficient little cross from George Ogararu found Huntelaar's head for an easy goal. (1-0) Roda defender Kah could be seen pushing and screaming at his teammate De Jong after the play.
37 minutes into the half, and everything changed again. Roda created a great scoring opportunity for Tioté, whose fine volley was well saved by Stekelenburg for a corner. That's where Ajax' luck ended, as the visitors converted the corner to equalize. (1-1) Roda's joy was short-lived, however.
Just four minutes later, it was Ajax' turn to counter-attack, and an absolutely lethal swerving cross from Luque led to a point-blank header from Suarez. And just like that, Ajax were back on top. (2-1)
The second half did not bring much relief to the visitors' misery. Less than two minutes after the re-start, Roda handed the ball to Suarez in their own half, and the Uruguayan did extremely well to slip past two defenders before slotting a neat little square pass to Luque. Suarez and Huntelaar might have their problems, but Suarez and Luque appear to be sharing the same brain, they are in such perfect synch. Luque stepped back perfectly to provide the opening for Suarez' pass, and then slotted home as easily as you'd open your own front door. (3-1)
Overall, Luque had an extremely impressive match, playing with strength and swagger as a withdrawn striker, moving freely about the field, right and left, forward and back. He almost always seemed to be involved in play.
Meanwhile, Roda's prospects improved with the introduction of Yulu-Matondo in place of Lamah (68), shortly after Ajax had brought on debutante Jan-Arie van der Heijden to replace Robber Schilder. Yulu-Matondo's first touch was a fine shot that took a dangerous deflection, forcing the best from Stekelenburg.
A few minutes later, another substitution (Dennis Rommedahl on for Luque), and another twist in the plot. Roda brought the tension right back into the match with a well-worked goal, finished off powerfully by Hadouir. (3-2) Game on, again.
And again, Roda looked at their weakest just after scoring. Ajax marched from the kick-off straight into the Roda penalty area, and a fine cross by Rommedahl was wasted because Suarez had fallen down -- or had been brought down -- in the box. His appeals for a penalty went unheeded, this time.
And now we must return to the awkward sub-plot regarding tensions between Suarez and Huntelaar...
In the 79th minute, Suarez again carried the ball into Roda's penalty area, and again fell down after some contact by Roda's beleaguered Kah. This time the referee did award the penalty Suarez had been begging for. Suarez has taken a few penalty kicks in his day, but Huntelaar was wearing the captain's armband, so he stepped up to the spot. Perhaps all would have been forgiven if he'd converted the chance, but the captain blasted the ball well over the crossbar. A spectacular miss.
Then, just moments later, it was Suarez' turn to throw oil on the fire, as he again stormed into the penalty area and then shot wildly over the cross bar when he might have slotted a cross to his captain, who stood unmarked at the penalty spot.
Would Ajax live to rue the lost chances?
In a word, no.
Just moments after Roda failed to convert an absolute sitter of a chance not three feet from the Ajax goal, Dennis Rommedahl sealed up the points for Ajax. A spectacular 50-yard pass from young Van der Heijden gave Rommedahl a free passage up the right side, and when the venerable Dane saw that Castro had left his near-post unguarded, the Ajax substitute neatly fired a low shot into goal. 4-2, game over, in the 89th minute.
Van der Heijden played an excellent match in his debut, including a fine
leading pass that set Rommedahl free to seal the victory. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
Nervy, excitable, inconsistent... It's no surprise really, as this was a remarkably young Ajax team. Seven of the Ajax players come from the youth program, some having appeared at De Toekomst quite recently. It speaks volumes about coach Adrie Koster's faith in The Future ("De Toekomst") that Young Ajax players like Van der Heijden, Siem de Jong and Gregory van der Wiel were given a chance to impress in the ArenA. Jan Vertonghen, Robbert Schilder, Hedwiges Maduro, John Heitinga, Maarten Stekelenburg... they've also come from the academy just up the road. Of course, the latter half of that list can hardly be considered youthful players, having logged considerable minutes for both Ajax 1 and Oranje.
It's also worth noting that the referee, the somewhat infamous Dick Jol, had a fine match. He could arguably be faulted for giving a soft penalty, but otherwise did an excellent job of maintaining order in a contentious, slightly chippy match while allowing the entertainment to flow.
In the end, Ajax were rewarded for their boldness: PSV lost to Heerenveen, vaulting Ajax to the top of the Eredivisie table by virtue of a superior goal differential. Ajax and Feyenoord both have 24 points, one more than PSV. Ajax travel to Rotterdam to face their rivals on Sunday. It's been years since The Classic held so much importance for both clubs. (Jim McGough)
Goals:
- 22' 1-0 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
- 38' 1-1 Roland Lamah
- 42' 2-1 Suárez
- 47' 3-1 Albert Luque Martos
- 76' 3-2 Anouar Hadouir
- 90' 4-2 Dennis Rommedahl
Referee: Jol
Yellow Cards: De Jong, Cissé, Lamah (Roda JC)
Attendance: 48,621
Lineups:
- Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Ogararu, Heitinga, Van der Wiel, Vertonghen; De Jong, Maduro, Schilder (66. Van der Heijden); Luque (75. Rommedahl), Huntelaar, Suárez.
- Roda JC line-up: Castro; Sonkaya, De Faauw, Kah (82. Saeijs), De Jong (46. Bodor); Tioté, Hadouir, Meeuwis; Cissé, Oper, Lamah (68. Yulu-Matondo).
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