De Lutte training camp starts with 0-9 win at GFC
0 (0) - 9
(6)
Pre-Season Friendly
Sportpark Heeckeren, Goor
Monday, 16 July, 2007
Hotel De
Bloemenbeek in the small town of De Lutte is Ajax's
'home away from home' in pre-season, simply because some things
never change, because Ajax are a club with a sense of tradition
and because the hotel staff always make the
Amsterdam visitors feel very welcome indeed. Ajax have returned
to De Lutte for a training camp of one week. They will do
lots of running and power training, but first - only hours
after their arrival - it was time for the first of three
friendly fixtures in the Eastern Netherlands. In
the nearby town of Goor, Ajax's 'centenary gift' to
Third Class amateur side GFC was a 0-9 defeat...
As relatively meaningless as they may be to Ajax:
the handful of pre-season kickabouts against amateur
sparring partners mean the world to the non-league
opponents in question. In many cases club and membership
have been looking forward to the day for months. It took
them months of preparations, and Ajax's visit, in
many cases, marks the highlight of the
club's anniversary celebrations. The latter was the case
in Goor, where GFC (founded October 1907)
celebrated their centenary. The Ajax game was also
the last hurrah to Romano Lammertink, after 17
seasons in GFC's first team. He received a standing ovation
from 3,500 people, gifts from the club and... an exclusive Ajax
watch from the visitors.
Edgar Davids. [Photo: Ajax Foto Side]
Lammertink probably didn't expect a historic triumph over
Ajax in his last match: his team's defeat by the score of
nine-nil probably (and hopefully) didn't really hurt. For Ajax,
it was 'just' a pre-season kickabout, but a very useful
one. More than on Saturday, against VVSB, Ajax's line-up
looked like a serious starting formation. The Amsterdammers
played better, too, and they scored some very good
goals. Edgar Davids' thundering strike from 30 yards out, which
made it 0-2 to Ajax, was probably the most spectacular of the
day.
The first half, in particular, saw Ajax at
'full flow' for 25 minutes or so. They netted six
goals in that phase, and it should have been more, but
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in particular missed a few
absolute sitters. In midfield, Wesley
Sneijder had a better day, netting three times in
total. Good goals? Dumb question... Sneijder is
incapable of scoring ugly goals, but once again: how
many more times will he wear the Ajax jersey?
Valencia have reportedly appeared back on the scene and
according to the reports Real Madrid also lie in
wait.
Ajax's fourth goal was a good, low strike by Nicolae Mitea,
who somehow injured himself when he scored and needed to be
replaced. It as yet unknown how serious his injury is. Fact is
that it wasn't the first time for the fragile Romanian to get
injured in pre-season. After Jan Vertonghen, who picked up a
knock against VVSB, Mitea is the second Ajacied set to miss a
few vital weeks of pre-season training.
The quality level of pre-season friendlies normally drops in
the second half, mostly due to a few avalanches of
player substitutions, and GFC vs Ajax was no exception to
that rule. GFC replaced seven players at half-time; Ajax waited
a bit longer, until the 62nd minute to be precise. Without
Heitinga, Sneijder, Davids and Huntelaar, Ajax were,
understandably, a less solid unit in the latter half hour, in
which 'Cape Town boy' Sameegh Doutie scored his first goal for
Ajax (albeit an 'unofficial' one) and Gabri put the final score
on the boards.
After the game there was special attention for goalkeeper
Erik Heijblok, who played his first 45 minutes as an Ajacied
and was 'praised' with an eyewink by his boss. "He got one
backpass and I must say: he handled it very well," said Henk
ten Cate. "Seriously though: Erik is a good bloke. It's good to
have him in the squad. We're happy to have him with
us."
Added Heijblok himself: "I will admit it: I'm as proud as a
peacock. I know I still have to learn a lot, but I''m very,
very eager. It is an absolute joy for me to play with this
team."
That's the spirit, mate. Next up: Quick '20 on
Wednesday. (MP)
Source: Ajax.nl, GFC Goor.nl
GOALS
- 12' 0-1 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
- 14' 0-2 Edgar Davids
- 16' 0-3 Wesley Sneijder
- 25' 0-4 Nicolae Mitea
- 31' 0-5 Wesley Sneijder
- 37' 0-6 Wesley Sneijder
- 56' 0-7 'Gabri' Garcia de la Torre
- 76' 0-8 Sameegh Doutie
- 82' 0-9 'Gabri' Garcia de la Torre
Referee: Nijhuis
Cards: none
Attendance: 3,500
Ajax line-up: Heijblok (46.
Gentenaar); Ogararu, Colin, Heitinga (62. Delorge), Emanuelson;
Gabri, Sneijder (62. Doutie), Davids (62. Anita); Kennedy,
Huntelaar (62. Fanteni), Mitea (26. Sarpong).
GFC line-up: Tanke; Alink (46.
Brinkmans), Bor, Heuvelink, Janssen (46. Donkelaar), Kingma
(46. Eeftink), Lammertink (46. Linthout), Leetink (46.
Oosterbeek), Relker, Ruumpol (46. Ruumpol), Toornstra (46. Ten
Zende).
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