Ajax cruise to convincing win over Heerenveen: 4-1
4 (2) - 1 (1)
Eredivisie
Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam
Sunday, 26 August, 2007
"Twelve goals in the first two games prove that we're having
a good start in the league," said Ajax boss Henk ten Cate
after his team's convincing 4-1 triumph over SC Heerenveen.
"But I am a bit worried about the fact that five or six players
from my starting line-up of preference won't be available on
Wednesday."
'Wednesday', for those who didn't know, stands for the
return leg against Slavia Prague, in the third qualifying
round of the Champions League. Another stumble in the
preliminary stages of the most prestigious of UEFA
competitions? It would be unforgiveable and disastrous,
against a club with an annual budget of 5 million euros. After
their fine win over SC Heerenveen, Ajax travel to the
Czech capital with confidence, but without
several of their midfielders. We all know
Edgar Davids' story, but today there was more bad
news: Gabri's minor meniscus injury (a reason
for Ten Cate to rest the player against Heerenveen) may
not be as 'minor' as it initially seemed. Ajax are
still hoping that some rest will be enough, but at the
same time they are fearing that it won't be. In that case,
Gabri will have to go under the knife, and then in rehab
for about three months. Another Ajax midfielder, Hedwiges
Maduro, has had a fine season's start. He started against
Heerenveen, but had to be replaced at half-time due to what
turned out to be a minor concussion. Maduro is a 'question
mark' for Wednesday; Gabri almost certainly a 'no
go'.
Jurgen Colin once again started as Ajax's right fullback.
[Photo: Ajax.nl]
And then there's Wesley Sneijder... Ajax can't moan
about his absence forever, because the club voluntarily
sold him to Real Madrid (for whom he scored the winning goal
against city rivals Atlético on Saturday), but Henk
ten Cate's reality is a bit bitter: Sneijder was going to stay
and part of Ten Cate's plans in pre-season. But then
he was sold, and fresh troops such as Albert Luque
and the central midfielder Ajax are still looking for
will not be eligible on Wednesday.
Just before kick-off Ajax and a nearly full Amsterdam ArenA
said 'goodbye' to Sneijder. There were gifts, warm words,
banners (Wesley, you'll always be one of
us), applause and a 'lap of honour' around the
pitch. Sneijder had two farewell presents for his fans: a
cautious promise that he will, one day, return to the
ArenA and (a nice surprise) a pretty funny video on
YouTube. Some fans on the F-Side stand begged Sneijder to
"put your soccer boots on", but he didn't: the
three Ajax midfielders that walked onto the pitch a minute
later were Hedwiges Maduro (left), John Heitinga (centre)
and Laurent Delorge (right).
It must be said: they did well. John Heitinga is not a
'number 10', but he did develop into one of Ajax's
best on the day, as well as the team's 'spiritual leader'.
Laurent Delorge? Let's face it: he was one of Ajax's more
'underwhelming' new signings this summer, but he
did the business at Gabri's position and seems
likely to play there on Wednesday, too.
The Ajax midfield was alright, and the fact that it
still was Ajax's most vulnerable line says something about
Ajax's dominance in the first half hour. The Amsterdammers
were utterly convincing and had almost taken the lead after
some 100 seconds, as goalkeeper Brian Vandenbussche stormed out
of his goal, only to find out that Hedwiges Maduro was going to
reach the ball earlier. Vandenbussche turned around and ran
back, but Maduro's lob was already on its way to an empty
goal. Vandenbussche was saved by the post.
In the 26 minutes that followed, Ajax's strikeforce played
particularly well. Kennedy Bakirçioglü was arguably
the best man in the opening phase, Luis Suárez was
constantly threatening, whereas Klaas-Jan Huntelaar drew
little attention, but played quite well, holding up the ball
and always laying it off accurately. None of the Ajax strikers,
however, came as close to scoring as Maduro, whose 26th minute
shot forced Vandenbussche to fully stretch.
Heerenveen, however, have reasons to travel to the
ArenA without fear. If we ignore this summer's result in the
play-offs, the last time they lost a 'normal' league game at
the ArenA was in November 2003. The past three seasons saw two
Heerenveen wins and a 0-0 draw in Amsterdam. In the 27th
minute it a carbon-copy of last season's unfortunate home
stumble was beginning to manifest itself: Ajax were playing
well and a goal seemed in the air, but when it finally fell the
team celebrating it was Heerenveen. Jaap Stam, who had a
remarkably poor one, lost out to Miralem Sulejmani on
a cutting counter-attack and Maarten Stekelenburg didn't
look great either as the Heerenveen man's diagonal finish
trickled across the line: 0-1 (27').
Miralem Sulejmani... Pronouncing his name correctly was a
bit of a challenge to the stadium announcer. The young
striker replaced Heerenveen's undisputed superstar of last
season, Afonso Alves. The Brazilian international wants to
leave Heerenveen, is reportedly talking to Middlesbrough and
did not show up for training. "I don't know where he is and at
the minute I don't care, either," said Heerenveen boss Gert-Jan
Verbeek after the game. "But it is clear that we can use his
goals."
That can be, but fact is that Sulejmani scored a goal
against Ajax, which is more than Alves can say. In
fact: Sulejmani could have hurt the home side even more in
the 30th minute, when he once again slipped past an unusually
apathetic Jaap Stam, who then brought Sulejmani down, just
inside the penalty area. Referee Dick Jol decided that it
was nothing, and Verbeek almost exploded on the sideline and
let off steam by throwing a plastic bottle. He picked it up
from the ground himself, but collided with the fourth
official. It looked like a rather insignificant accident, but
the KNVB man made a huge point out of it, leaving referee Jol
no other option than to send Verbeek to the
stands.
Luis Suárez's stunning diagonal volley made it 4-1 to
Ajax. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
The ten minutes after Heerenveen's undeserved goal were the
only difficult phase of the game for Ajax. They lost the plot a
bit and suddenly looked weak and vulnerable. But last season's
nightmare would not be repeated. Just when everybody at
the ArenA had accepted that Heerenveen were going
to be a goal up at half-time, Ajax struck twice
from Kennedy Bakirçioglü set-pieces: a corner in
the 44th minute (fired home from inside the box by
Suárez) and a free-kick in the 45th, stylishly headed
home by Thomas Vermaelen: 2-1 Ajax. It was no longer unexpected
in the first half, but most definitely deserved.
It would be unfair to compare any of Ajax's newcomers to
Wesley Sneijder, but since it happens all the time, let us -
for a change - mention something that they are actually
better at than Sneijder. For a man with such a
wonderful shot, Wesley Sneijder's corners and crosses from
free-kicks were remarkably poor and ineffective.
Kennedy's set pieces against Heerenveen were no less
than excellent. Three of Ajax's four goals were scored
from a Kennedy set piece, including the 'goal of the
day' (and quite possibly one of Ajax's best goals of the
season): Ajax's fourth and Suárez's second of the day.
Kennedy's 59th minute corner went over everybody's heads
and seemed too hard, but Luis Suárez was waiting on
the far corner of the penalty area. He gently let the ball land
on his thigh and released a stunning volley, which
diagonally went over the head of Brian Vandenbussche before
slamming into the far side netting (59').
Suárez's stunner made it 4-1. Seven minute earlier
Robbert Schilder had already decided the game. The midfielder,
who replaced a groggy Hedwiges Maduro at half-time, received
the ball a few yards outside of the penalty box and resolutely
fired a well-aimed shot into the low corner: 3-1 (52').
Heerenveen were outplayed and destroyed in the first 15
minutes of the second half. They were 4-1 down on the hour and
seemed ready for a good stuffing, but they managed to restore
the order in defense and (more than anything else) Ajax wished
to take no risk with 'Slavia away' coming up. Henk ten Cate
replaced his two best forwards (Kennedy and Suárez) with
Rommedahl and Urzaiz. The ArenA fans already seem to
have embraced Suárez (three goals and three
assists in his first two league matches!), chanting his name
and giving him an ovation as he walked off the pitch.
"That was great," the Uruguayan admitted, "but let's not
forget it's all about the win. It was the only thing that
counted today, and on Wednesday it will once again be the only
thing that counts."
Without Suárez, and without the almost tangible drive
and determination of the first hour, the match petered out.
Some more goals would have been nice (and very well possible),
but 4-1 is a wonderful result against Heerenveen. "Twelve goals
in two games: that's not too bad," said Henk ten Cate, who -
just like everybody else - then almost immediately started
to talk about 'Wednesday'. Okay, there are some injuries, but
Ajax are Ajax: a win is compulsory. "We believe in the
qualities of the players who are available. Slavia Prague are
not a great side. We are much better, if you ask me. We
will get our chances there and we will have to convert them. We
are confident and we firmly believe that we will make
it." (Menno Pot)
GOALS
- 27' 0-1 Miralem Sulejmani
- 44' 1-1 Luis Suárez
- 45' 2-1 Thomas Vermaelen
- 53' 3-1 Robbert Schilder
- 59' 4-1 Luis Suárez
Referee: Jol
Yellow cards: Heitinga,
Vermaelen (Ajax), Zuiverloon (SC Heerenveen)
Attendance: 48,988
Miscellaneous: SC Heerenveen coach Gert-Jan
Verbeek was sent to the stands (30') following a dispute with
the fourth KNVB official.
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Colin, Stam,
Vermaelen, Emanuelson; Delorge, Heitinga, Maduro (46.
Schilder); Kennedy (69. Urzaiz), Huntelaar, Suárez (59.
Rommedahl).
SC Heerenveen line-up: Vandenbussche;
Zuiverloon, Breuer, Dingsdag, Johansen; Poulsen (46. Beerens),
Bradley, Nielsen, Pranjic; Sulejmani (68. Sibon), Garcia-Garcia
(57. Roorda).
Related links
