26/04/2024 20:00 | by Jesse ter Haar
Ajax O18 took a giant step towards the spring championship on Friday evening. The team from Amsterdam took on the number two in the mini-Classic as the leader and that was a success for the away team. Two goals from Don-Angelo Konadu helped Ajax’s talents to a 1-3 victory over Feyenoord.
FT | Feyenoord O18 – Ajax O18 (1-3)
The first significant moment of the match immediately resulted in a goal. Jan Faberski rushed around his opponent and was brought down in the penalty area: penalty for Ajax. It was Don-Angelo Konadu who got behind the ball and successfully took responsibility for the 1-0. The match was not exactly full of opportunities and it took until the 25th minute before the Amsterdam team became dangerous again. In that phase, Feyenoord mainly had the ball in Ajax’s half, but the Rotterdam team could not prevent Skye Vink from sending teammate Faberski into the depth. Just before he could take a swing, a Feyenoord player tapped the ball away with a sliding slide.
In the last five minutes before the end of the first half, opportunities rained at Sportpark Varkenoord. First it was Feyenoord that was able to take a shot from distance after Avery Appiah lost the ball, but the ball went over the goal of Ajax goalie Paul Reverson. After this, a serious opportunity followed for Tijn Peters. He received the ball after another good job from Faberski and seemed to have the corner to choose from, but he placed his shot just the wrong side of the post. Finally, it was Lucas Jetten who put the ball back to Vink after a good acceleration, but the striker shot the ball wide. So it remained 1-0 at half time.
A long interruption followed and that had everything to do with an injury to the refereeing trio. A replacement was found and so the players were able to kick off again after almost half an hour. Feyenoord almost tied the score within a few minutes, but the post saved the team from Amsterdam. Not much later, the home team also had a chance on the edge of the penalty area, but the ball was curled over the goal. After this it was up to Ajax again, with Vink taking advantage of a mistake by Feyenoord and then managed to reach Appiah through a combination with Faberski. However, he shot straight at Feyenoord’s goalie. Four minutes later it became 0-2. Peters received the ball on the right side of the field, waited for Faberski and passed the ball at the right time. The left foot continued towards the goal and shot into the short corner.
If there were any doubts about who would win the match, they were completely removed about twenty minutes before the end. Peters put pressure on Feyenoord’s last defender and did so successfully. He went towards the goal and seemed to make it 0-3, but he was knocked down by a defender in the penalty area. It gave Konadu another penalty to take and this time he convincingly shot the ball low into the side netting. Feyenoord tried again after this, but had a tough task ahead of them. Fifteen minutes before the end, the Rotterdam team found itself in a promising position and a shot was fired from about eleven meters, but Nick Verschuren threw himself in front of the ball and saved goalkeeper Reverson some work.
The last dangerous moments for Ajax came through Konadu and Peters. The former passed his opponent on the left side of the field and played the ball to the far post, where Peters was waiting. However, a defender was able to tap the ball, preventing Peters from getting the ball in. The absolute final phase was then for Feyenoord. In the ninetieth minute, the ball was cleared from the line by Verschuren, but the tying goal was scored in injury time. Reverson saw a ball arriving late and had to give away a rebound, which was shot in hard and high from close range. It didn’t go any further than that and so the mini-Classic ended in 1-3.
Ajax O18 is doing good business
The victory over Feyenoord means particularly good news for Ajax U18. The victory puts the Amsterdam team six points ahead of their closest competitor in the title race. It means that Feyenoord can only equal on points and become champions on goal difference. However, Ajax’s goal difference (+23) is a lot better than that of Feyenoord (+6). Should Ajax O18 actually become autumn champions, there will be a decisive championship match against the champion of the spring competition: AZ. This is an important goal with a view to the Youth League. Ajax O18 can only end up in the Youth League if the main force of the Amsterdam team enforces Champions League football, or by becoming champions themselves. If Ajax O18 becomes national champion, they will qualify for the domestic path of the Youth League.
Line-up Ajax O18:
Reverson; Ugwu, Verschuren, Janse, Jetten; Alders, Peters, Appiah; Faberski, Vink, Konadu.
Substitutions Ajax O18:
Schreuder, Van de Pavert, Johnson, Bounida, Wolff, Ouazane, Van der Vaart.
Goals:
0-1 Don-Angelo Conadu (7′, pen.)
0-2 Jan Faberski (61′)
0-3 Don-Angelo Conadu (69′, pen.)
1-3 Feyenoord (90+2′)
Get your items now in the final sale in the Ajax Shop!
Read the article on the mobile website
Not inside
2024-04-26 18:00:00
#Ajax #U18 #takes #giant #step #title #victory #miniClassic
