Dominance, it is perhaps the most important goal that Ajax coach Erik ten Hag has in mind with his team. The goal is to completely trump the opponent, preferably with the ball at the foot most of the time. Looking for awareness among the opponent, who must know that there is nothing to be gained against Ajax.
Ten Hag’s team had lost its dominance and the accompanying conviction for a game and a half. With a very shaky second half against Benfica in the eighth final of the Champions League last Wednesday and a very unexpected defeat against Go Ahead Eagles in the Eredivisie last Sunday. Inconvenient, especially when the distribution of prices in the season gets closer.
It must also have been a relief for Ten Hag that Ajax recovered on Thursday evening. In the semi-final of the KNVB Cup against AZ in the AFAS stadium in Alkmaar, Ajax dominated almost the entire match. An early goal by midfielder Steven Berghuis and a late goal by substitute Davy Klaassen ensured the victory and another place in the cup final. On Sunday 17 April, PSV will be the opponent in the Kuip in Rotterdam.
Discipline
His players knew what had gone wrong in Deventer on Sunday, Ten Hag had said before the game in Alkmaar. His team had failed, agreements had not been met, the ball had faltered. Against AZ, 100 percent discipline was again required, in the quest for dominance.
Ten Hag cannot be completely satisfied even after Thursday. Only at times did the smooth game with which Ajax put opponent after opponent over the knee earlier this season – only in the Eredivisie did Ajax win a duel with 5-0 eight times this season – really came to an end. But dominance comes in more forms. Ajax managed to disrupt AZ’s game; useful pressure from attackers, or an important win a line later, it paid off, precisely against a team in form.
AZ last lost on November 7 last year. The biggest milestone was the victory in Amsterdam over Ajax in December. Trainer Pascal Jansen had his team on track after a difficult start to the season. That difficult start was not illogical, because AZ had lost captain Teun Koopmeiners and the young attackers and neo-internationals Myron Boadu and Calvin Stengs. Of that group, even a group of friends, only left back and captain Owen Wijndal is left.
AZ couldn’t manage against Ajax what it did in the last few matches: play football freely. Central defenders Pantelis Hatzidiakos and Bruno Martins Indi were often forced to a long, long shot. A slip by Ajax defender Perr Schuurs after such a long kick seemed to give Zakaria Aboukhlal a chance in the first half, but Schuurs was helped by fellow defender Lisandro Martinez.
The Argentinian is of great value to Ajax in a time when the footballing part falters. Against Go Ahead Eagles, 24-year-old Martinez was the only one to pass. Against AZ he again showed the healthy aggression that can get a team moving. Just like the cleverness of intentionally blocking his direct opponent after five minutes, hard but fair.
Few goals against
What will disturb coach Ten Hag and his players the most is the small amount of opportunities that were created. The dominance that Ajax has shown in its own half this season – in the Eredivisie only seven goals against in 24 matches – was again not achieved in the opponent’s half against AZ.
A shot from Brazilian attacker Antony was an easy prey for AZ goalkeeper Peter Vindahl in the second half. Striker Sébastien Haller, nevertheless mainly dependent on the movement and football gogme around him, hardly appeared in the piece. Precisely substitute Davy Klaassen, who is not always assured of a base place, decided the game just before time.
Ten Hag will be especially pleased that his team is still competing for the prizes on three fronts. After the group stage of the Champions League, in which Ajax won all six matches, the trainer guarded against possible consequences of that dominance. Convenience is always lurking, but against AZ the players showed a bit of the hunger they had earlier this season.