It will be all or nothing for AZ when it takes on Vitesse at home on Sunday. The Alkmaarders have to turn a 2-1 deficit to be active in Europe again next year. “In the final phase we have to be more careful”, trainer Pascal Jansen looks ahead to the second game in the final of the play-offs.
After a short night, Jansen felt that AZ should have taken a draw from the Gelredome. In the 86th minute, striker Loïs Openda shot the home team to a 2-1 victory. “I think the second goal was in the air for us earlier, because we were in control. The sharpness towards Openda is required for ninety minutes.”
A loss for AZ is the absence of Owen Wijndal and the resignation of Fredrik Midtsjö. Wijndal trained with the group for the first time today, but it is still a matter of doubt. “He may still be in the picture for Sunday,” says Jansen. Midtsjö will undergo an MRI scan later today. The midfielder left the field in the Gelredome with a hamstring injury.
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It could therefore just be that Owen Wijndal will play or may have already played his last game for AZ on Sunday. The left back is emphatically portrayed with a switch to Ajax. “Time will tell”, Jansen keeps his jaws tight.
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For AZ, only a win is enough to make the season a success. The goal of the Alkmaarders is to achieve European football. That means that AZ has to change a 2-1 deficit against Vitesse for a place in the second preliminary round of the Conference League. The match in Alkmaar starts on Sunday at 2.30 pm.