Again no victory for Ajax in a top match – the game is also slow and predictable against AZ

Hollow back, head back, eyes to heaven. In the 85th minute of the home match against AZ, when a bounced shot by Steven Bergwijn just misses the post, Ajax coach John Heitinga’s desperation becomes visible. He knows: this is not going to work anymore.

Ajax has not yet won a single top match this year, with the exception of a cup match against Feyenoord. Not under Alfred Schreuder, nor under his successor Heitinga. Also on Saturday evening against AZ, Ajax cannot manage (0-0). It is a draw with major consequences.

PSV, which won 1-0 at Sparta earlier in the evening, has a five-point lead with three games to go. This means that second place, and therefore participation in the preliminary round of the Champions League, is out of sight for the club with by far the largest budget in the Netherlands. Viewed positively for Ajax: it keeps close attacker AZ at two points for the time being.

The question for Heitinga beforehand was: how do you motivate a team that only plays to limit the damage? A team that many players also suspect that they will no longer be a part of next season. Because they claim a step higher (Mohammed Kudus, Edson Álvarez, Jurriën Timber) or because they may be victimized in the reorganization that the new technical director Sven Mislintat will implement next summer (Jorge Sánchez, Calvin Bassey, Owen Wijndal, Steven Berghuis ). The verdict on right back Sánchez has already been passed by part of the Ajax crowd. His entrance, halfway through the second half, is greeted with a flute concert.

The last competition matches are crucial for Ajax. They determine whether Ajax will play next year in the Conference League, Europa League or can participate in the preliminary round of the Champions League, a world of difference both financially and sportingly. But what if you probably won’t be there anymore? Heitinga will also ask himself that question from time to time. At the beginning of April, he asked the club management for “clarity”, he said he would like to stay on as head coach. Now, more than a month later, his position has still not been decided, but things look bleak for him.

Heitinga does not show any uncertainty on Saturday evening. He is, as always, fanatically coaching on the chalk line of ‘his’ profession for most of the game. He applauds furiously at ball conquests or successful tackles. Heitinga expected “a reaction” from his team, he said in advance to the club website, as he had seen it last week during the lost cup final against PSV (after penalties). Ajax then failed to set up one smooth attack in 120 minutes, the team did not even shoot on goal. But there was no lack of fighting spirit, Heitinga thought. The audience saw a team that compensated for technical and tactical inability with annoying behavior and hard fouls, the coach praised the intransigence of his team. He had missed exactly that during the wash (3-0) against PSV that preceded the cup final.

Resignation in the stands

There is little sign of doggedness against AZ in the first half. Occasionally Ajax creates danger through an individual action – after twenty minutes Steven Bergwijn curls the ball from the corner of the sixteen-meter area onto the post, just before half-time striker Brian Brobbey shoots from close range at keeper Mathew Ryan – but the attacking game is often predictable and slow. Developing great pressure on an opponent, it was obvious for years in the Johan Cruijff ArenA, but Ajax has not been able to do it for months. It is now leading to a certain resignation in the stands.

AZ also fails to impose its will on the opponent for more than a minute. Occasionally the team combines smoothly, usually when midfielders Jordy Clasie and Tijjani Reijnders interfere in an attack. Like halfway through the first half, when Reijnders pops up for Ajax goalkeeper Géronimo Rulli after a splitting pass. Reijnders hesitates too long, chance gone. Too often AZ counters end up dead due to sloppy passing and misunderstandings.

Under Pascal Jansen, AZ is experiencing more or less a season like Feyenoord experienced last year. Unstable in the league, surprising in Europe. West Ham United will play in the semi-finals of the Conference League on Thursday. Wonderful, but Jansen will have the feeling that his team missed an excellent opportunity on Saturday evening to surpass the battered rival Ajax.

After the break, the biggest chance is for AZ. Substitute Mayckel Lahdo shoots the ball over the left side on the inside of the post after a smooth combination. There are great opportunities for Ajax on the other hand. Brobbey in particular, praised in advance by Heitinga for bringing depth to the game, misses a few times from close range. Further – again – expressions of powerlessness and frustration. Timber who just rows the ball over the sideline, Álvarez who presses his forehead against that of AZ defender Sam Beukema in an aggressive gesture.

Afterwards, Heitinga is brief in his analysis. He does not want to talk about the consequences of missing out on the Champions League, as far as he is concerned it is still too early for conclusions. “The boys fought, but the ball didn’t want to go in. We have to move on to the next one. You have to pick yourself up.”