Ajax won the make-up match against FC Groningen today. The game was supposed to be played last Sunday, but was finally stopped due to smoke bombs on the field. In the remaining 81 minutes Ajax managed to win 3-2.
An unchanged Ajax was fierce and alert from the first whistle. The first big chance was for Steven Bergwijn, who headed a cross from the left into the hands of Groningen goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh.
In the 18th minute it was a hit for John Heitinga’s team. Left back Owen Wijndal was knocked out in the penalty area and Dusan Tadic was allowed to moor from eleven meters. Ajax’s captain made no mistake and controlled the ball into the corner for the 0-1. Yet Ajax did not take that lead into the break. In the 38th minute, the Groningen team struck via a counter. The final destination was Florian Krüger, who scored through the hands of Ajax goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli and made it 1-1 at halftime.
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At the start of the second half, Ajax escaped from falling behind. Once again Groningen was off in the switch and Krüger got a dot of a chance on his second goal. The German attacker, however, shot the ball over the goal from close range. After recovering from the shock, Ajax took the lead again in the 68th minute. A gossamer cross from Mohammed Kudus was walked in at the far post by Brian Brobbey: 1-2.
Nail biting
After Ajax’s second goal, Groningen’s resistance seemed broken. Jurrien Timber scored the third goal on behalf of the team from Amsterdam. The central defender headed Tadic’s free kick into the ropes. Two minutes later, Ajax escaped a penalty when both the referee and the VAR thought a handball from Devyne Rensch was not worth a penalty.
FC Groningen eventually provided an exciting final phase by making it 2-3. Laros Duarte curled the ball past Rulli just before time with a lot of feeling. Ajax held on in the final minutes and takes over third place in the Eredivisie from AZ. The team from Amsterdam has two points ahead of AZ with two rounds to go.
Setup Ajax: Rulli; Rensch, Hato, Timber, Wijndal (Klaassen/69); Taylor, Tadic, Alvarez; Bergwijn, Brobbey (Godts/86), Kudus