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Willem II never managed to beat Ajax in Amsterdam. A game against the second team of the Amsterdammers would seem like a perfect opportunity to change this. But the Tilburg side, currently 9th in the Eredivisie, probably played one of its weaker games ever in the ArenA, against a Young team in which Ajax-1 reserves Pasanen and Yakubu formed the heart of defence, but otherwise consisted of young rookies only. The Amsterdammers seemed slightly nervous in the first twenty minutes. It was the only phase in the game in which Willem II could keep up, but their most dangerous moment was a Denny Landzaat shot from outside the penalty box, which Maarten Stekelenburg saved. As the half-time whistle sounded, Young Ajax would already have deserved a lead. Boukhari came inches too late to convert a Wesley Sneijder free-kick, Willem II defender Jos van Nieuwstadt almost beat his own goalkeeper on a Seedorf cross and Stephano Seedorf himself got a free passage, but could not control the ball enough to score. It turned out that Young Ajax saved its best play for the second half, in which the superb midfield tandem of Stephano Seedorf and the perfectly two-footed Wesley Sneijder showed how beautiful football can be. Slowly but certainly the pressure on the Tilburg defence increased. The inevitable goal came in the 67th minute, as Michael Krohn-Dehli (poor first half, excellent second) reacted smartly on a Young Ajax throw-in, which Willem thought was for them, and pulled back to Seedorf, who calmly fired under De Vlieger: 1-0.
The 7,326 at the ArenA were then presented a sometimes amazing football spectacle, which must have been a highly embarrassing experience for the Eredivisie professionals, who received the knock-out blow from an Amsterdam taxi driver by the name of Jamal Akachar, who was in the Ajax youth, but then moved to the Ajax 'Saturday amateurs' section. He was standing in the right place as the unstoppable 'Man of the Match', Nourdin Boukhari, got a free passage to De Vlieger, slipped past the Belgian national goalkeeper and pulled back to Akachar: 2-0 (76'). Willem II fiercely protested against both Young Ajax goals. In vain, of course. Jos van Nieuwstadt best illustrated the frustration by kicking an opponent in the legs and picking up a yellow card. The Tilburg side had to undergo fifteen more minutes of humiliation before Kew Jaliens headed home for a goal that could hardly be called a 'consolation goal'. Last season's cup performances by Young Ajax should have been a serious warning, but it wasn't serious enough for Willem II. Their coach Mark Wotte had a simple explanation for it: "Ajax-2 has a number of players who are better then some players of Willem II." Once again, two Ajax teams are with the last sixteen. In February of 2003, Ajax-1 will play Roda JC at the ArenA, while Young Ajax travels to Rotterdam, for a tie against the Eredivisie side that could be described as 'Young Feyenoord': Excelsior. (MP) GOALS
Referee: Vink Young Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Kujala, Pasanen, Yakubu, Valencia; De Jong, Seedorf, Sneijder; Krohn-Dehli (86. Cruz), Akachar (81. Bechan), Boukhari. Willem II line-up: De Vlieger; Jaliens, Mathijsen, Wau (46. Mathijssen) , Caluwé (78. Janssens); Landzaat, Van Nieuwstadt, Victoria, Mourad (59. Simons); Shoukov, Van der Gun. Amstel Cup Second Round Results (E = Eredivisie, F = First Division, A = amateur, R = reserves team)
Draw for Third Round (= Round of Sixteen)
Games to be played on 04 and 05 February, 2003 Related Links:
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