Ajax suffered its first competition defeat in the Johan Cruijff ArenA, after four draws in away matches. Last season’s number 2 started strongly. “But we should have taken our chances better then too,” said Heitinga. “Too many players with us did not reach their level. At AZ they did.”
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Heitinga received a whistle from the fans in the ArenA when he replaced Oscar Gloukh after seventy minutes. “We had a difficult time against the AZ midfielders,” he said. “Then you try something different. Jorthy Mokio also had a difficult time, while he is doing very well in training. We have to move on. We will play another tough match against Chelsea on Wednesday.”
Coach of Amsterdammers does not expect Dolberg back for the time being
Trainer John Heitinga does not expect Kasper Dolberg to return to Ajax for the time being. “We said for a long time that we had to look at it from game to game,” he said after the defeat against AZ (0-2). “But it is disappointing. It will take weeks.”
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Dolberg suffered an injury to his abdominal wall last month in the away match against PSV. Ajax will play against Chelsea and FC Twente next week. Owen Wijndal also has to miss those matches. “And Steven Berghuis also needs rest,” Heitinga said. “He has been at eighty percent for weeks. He now needs to get completely fit. Because the season is still long.”
Ko Itakura and Youri Regeer are on their way back after injuries. “They can play a role against Chelsea and FC Twente,” said Heitinga.
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Trainer Martens sees AZ playing with courage against Ajax
Maarten Martens was a satisfied trainer after AZ’s away win over Ajax (0-2). “I’m not just happy with the result,” he said. “We certainly played with faith and courage in the second half.”
Martens was not satisfied with the play of his team in the first fifteen minutes of the match. “Then we were defeated. But after Weslley Patati’s opening goal, a lot changed. After that we got better and better in the match.”
AZ remained without a defeat against Ajax for the ninth game in a row. The club climbed to third place in the rankings, with a 2-point lead over Ajax. “They have players with individual qualities,” said captain Sven Mijnans in the catacombs of the Johan Cruijff ArenA. “But we defended compactly and then you don’t give up many chances. We took the lead after two quick counters and didn’t get into any problems after that.”