Ajax does not appear sharp and falls down on a visit to AZ

Ajax went down on Sunday while visiting AZ. The team from Amsterdam failed to convince in Alkmaar and that resulted in an expensive loss of points. The lead came through Mohammed Kudus, but Ajax let itself be eaten: 2-1.

The match started without too many highlights. The first team to become dangerous was Ajax. Steven Bergwijn was released and found Kudus, who fired from the turn and hit an opponent. Hereafter, the ball fell at the feet of Devyne Rensch, who tried it from a distance. However, he saw his shot go over quite high. Not long after that, it was AZ that got a chance. AZ found space on the right, after which Jens Odgaard managed to get to a cross for Jurriën Timber. Remko Pasveer, however, was paying close attention and tapped the ball out of his goal.

Five minutes later Ajax took the lead. After a long pass from Daley Blind, Kenneth Taylor was suddenly completely free and he was able to walk into the AZ penalty area with the ball. He saw Kudus next to him and he also served him with a simple ball, after which the Ghanaian could walk in. However, Ajax’s game was anything but convincing. The sharpness was not there and that was also apparent with a back pass from Edson Álvarez. He played it back on Pasveer when the goalie was just on his way to the other side. Pasveer, however, was unable to react in time to straighten things out.

This was followed by a period in which little happened. Tijjani Reijnders tried it from a distance, but produced a roller that Pasveer had little trouble with. AZ still equalized five minutes before the end. Devyne Rensch made a mistake by timing a sliding wrong, allowing Mees de Wit to finish in the long corner. However, that was not the end of it, because things went from bad to worse for Ajax. In the injury time of the first half, Calvin Bassey was not sharp in putting AZ offside. All Ajax players pay attention, except the left leg. This made it easy for AZ to reach Odgaard from behind. The striker easily scored. Soon after, the half-time signal sounded.

Ajax also did not start well in the second half. It was Reijnders who quickly got a chance at the 3-1, but a fabulous save by Pasveer prevented that. In the switch Ajax became dangerous, but Kudus’ ball on Dusan Tadic was not convincing enough to create space for the captain. As a result, a promising situation in which the three-on-three was lost. To achieve a really good attack after the break, Ajax needed more than ten minutes. It provided a shot chance for Steven Berghuis, but his shot lacked the conviction that Ajax as a whole also lacked. After more than an hour, AZ had two chances to make it 2-1. Among other things, due to the poor performance of Calvin Bassey, Pasveer had to save twice, but he did that with verve.

It didn’t last at Ajax even after the break, so Alfred Schreuder intervened in the 63rd minute. He brought in Brian Brobbey, while Rensch went out. About twenty minutes before time, Ajax was close to 2-2. Kudus got the ball in front of his feet in the box and passed the keeper with his shot, but the ball was cleared from the line. In the last part Ajax had the ball more, but the team was too impure to create real opportunities. That chance came ten minutes before the end. Álvarez put the ball back to Bergwijn in the box and offered him an – so it seemed – an opportunity not to be missed. He missed him anyway, because Reijnders saved with his shoulder. The arbitration added eight minutes of injury time, but despite the necessary danger for AZ’s goal, the equalizer was no longer in it.

AZ setup:

concealed; Hatzidiakos, Beukema, Martins Indi (Dekker 47′), Kerkez; Clasie, Reijnders, D. de Wit; Sugawara, Odgaard (Lahdo 85′), M. de Wit (Bazoer 85′).

Wissels AZ:

Vindahl, Westerveld, Koopmeiners, Barasi, Van Brederode, Dekker, Lahdo, Bazoer, Vanheusden, Buurmeester, De Jong, Griffith.

Ajax setup:

feather; Rensch (Brobbey 63′), Timber, Bassey, Blind; Alvarez, Taylor (Klaassen 46′), Berghuis; Tadic, Kudus (Lucca 82′), Bergwijn (Ocampos 82′).

Substitutions Ajax:

Stekelenburg, Gorter, Wijndal, Klaassen, Brobbey, Ocampos, Kaplan, Lucca, Baas, Regeer, Fitz-Jim, Mágallan.

Goals:

0-1 Holy Mohammed (12′)
1-1 Mees de Wit (40′)
2-1 Jens Odgaard (45+6′)