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Match Report: 'Sleepwalking' Ajax stumble through to quarter-finals

The atmosphere in the ArenA was almost ecstatic as Ajax and RBC Roosendaal entered the pitch for the second game of the night: two teams in the quarter finals - wasn't that great? Nothing was gonna spoil this! But pride almost had a fall against the brave, surprisingly strong and - in the end - unlucky First Division side.

There was only one silver-lining to Ajax-1's complete non-performance: this was probably the most spectacular night of football Ajax fans will ever see. A historic victory by the second team as a starter, including a spectacular equalizer and a 'golden goal', followed by a seven goal game, with a second 'golden goal' bringing the decision. Will we ever experience such an amazing night again?

From the start, it was obvious that Ajax-1 did not 'have it'. Passing was erratic, the strikers powerless, the defense leaky. RBC, with a travelling support of over 1,700 on the stands, did not seem to suffer from any stage-fright and did everything right that Ajax did wrong: they worked hard, seemed determined, moved for the ball, looked dynamic and executed their combination play with concentration.

The ArenA crowd thought it was a good joke at first, singing "The second team is better!" and even cheering as striker Geert den Ouden converted an erratic Van der Vaart back-pass (14). This would wake Ajax up, was the common thought, and it seemed to be right, because Rafaël van der Vaart made up for his mistake only eight minutes later: 1-1 (22).

But Ajax did not wake up, looking wayward and disorganized. RBC Roosendaal, a club with only one season of Eredivisie experience and currently third in the First Division, was the better side and their short, bald goalkeeper Wim de Ron, no matter how silly he looked, slowly became the hero of the night, saving a Van der Vaart shot and a good Zlatan volley.

Ten Ajax players deserved to be substituted at half-time. Ronald Koeman replaced Richard Knopper with John O'Brien. The American was one of the very few Ajacieden who had a decent performance in the second half. But it couldn't stop what seemed to become the unmasking of Ajax: referee Luinge saw a Van der Meyde hand-ball in the box. John van Loenhout saw Fred Grim stop his penalty, but was there to finish the rebound himself: 1-2 (54).

Johnny Heitinga came on for dramatically weak Tomás Galásek after an hour, but Heitinga managed to do even worse. It slowly became clear: Ajax was not gonna wake up. They were sleepwalking. What could Koeman do? He substituted Zlatan for Maxwell. It seemed to be a crazy substitution. Ajax was 1-2 down and struggling - and used its third and last substitution to bring on a 17 year-old left-back and continue without a center forward? Wamberto, Van der Meyde and Van der Vaart were now the target-men.

A few minutes later the historic Amstel Cup-night slowly became surreal: still feeling the the Young Ajax euphoria, the crowd at the ArenA saw Damiën Hertog release a beautiful shot from 25 yards. The best goal in the ArenA this season if it wasn't for Jason Culina: 1-3, and the clock ticking into the 75th minute. This was no longer a joke.

Ironically, the knock-out punch woke Ajax up. The Amsterdammers had equalized in seven minutes' time. For the second time, the linesman saw a hand-ball the referee did not see. André Bergdølmo pulled one back; Andy van der Meyde equalized five minutes later. RBC Roosendaal saw the fairy-tale slip through their fingers. Extra time, the second time, in over three hours of football.

The winner for Ajax seemed close: a Maxwell shot was saved by the unbeatable De Ron, who later brought Van der Vaart down. A 100% penalty, but referee Luinge didn't think so. The De Ron show was not over yet, as the goalkeepr saved an unstoppable Maxwell header on the goal-line. And a Trabelsi shot. And a Van der Vaart shot. Ajax was pushing, but it didn't feel safe, given the poor defending we'd seen all night.

The winner came in the first minute of the second half of extra time, a bouncing Wamberto volley from the edge of the penalty box beat the man who seemed unbeatable: Wim de Ron. Ajax advanced; all there was left for RBC Roosendaal was a well-deserved ovation.

It was after eleven o'clock when Wamberto scored, more than five hours after Young Ajax kicked off for their game. With Young Ajax performing so spectacularly well, and Ajax-1 so spectacularly bad, it did not feel like a long and cold night, but fairly short and extremely hot one. More great news followed immediately after the game: the draw brought two more home games for both Ajax teams, against opponents that seem 'beatable'. Young Ajax will face First Division side Stormvogels Telstar, from IJmuiden, whereas Ajax-1 takes on FC Groningen.

Could there be two Ajax teams in the semi finals in the middle Ajax USA's trip to Amsterdam? It seems possible. We'll find out on either 29 or 30 January 2002, perhaps during another 'double-header'. It can never be a spectacular as this one was, you'd think: but this night definitely taught us that you should never say never... (MP)

GOALS

• 14' 0-1 Geert de Ouden
• 22' 1-1 Rafaël van der Vaart
• 54' 1-2 John van Loenhout
• 74' 1-3 Damiën Hertog
• 76' 2-3 André Bergdølmo (penalty)
• 81' 3-3 Andy van der Meyde
• 106' 4-3 Wamberto ('golden goal')

Referee: Luinge
Yellow card: Den Ouden (RBC Roosendaal)
Attendance: 18,626

Ajax line-up: Grim; Trabelsi, Bergdølmo, Chivu, De Cler; Galásek (60. Heitinga), Knopper (46. O'Brien), Van der Vaart; Van der Meyde, Zlatan (67. Maxwell), Wamberto.

RBC Roosendaal line-up: De Ron; Koskinen, Hellemons, Hertog, Bakboord; Heije, Daelemans (76. De Waard), Luyten (65. Maseland), Van Loenhout; Den Ouden, Cales.

Draw for the Amstel Cup Quarter Finals (29 and/or 30 January, 2002)

• PSV vs Feyenoord
• FC Utrecht vs SC Heerenveen
• Ajax vs FC Groningen
• Young Ajax vs Stormvogels Telstar

Related Links:

• Discussion: Ajax current form
• Ajax.nl: Match report (in Dutch) and photos: Ajax - RBC Roosendaal
• Match Report: Young Ajax - FC Twente