FC Emmen may have lost 3-1 to Ajax in the Johan Cruijff Arena on Sunday evening, but coach Dick Lukkien’s team need not be ashamed. That was the conclusion of our analyst Marnix Kolder.
1. Impossible task
Winning against Ajax, the reigning national champion, was considered impossible in advance. And that too on enemy territory, in the Johan Cruijff Arena, although not filled to the brim. Apart from the obvious difference in quality between the two teams, the team from Amsterdam could not afford to make a mistake in the battle for a ticket for the prestigious and extremely lucrative Champions League tournament, in which it is involved with PSV.
FC Emmen would be a great play ball to boost the goal balance, many predicted. After all, the previous encounters all ended in big victories for Ajax (5-0, 5-0 and 4-0). Our analyst Marnix Kolder therefore had a hard head in advance that the visitors could really offer a serious match this time. “It will be 7-0 for Ajax,” said the former striker of, among others, FC Emmen, Go Ahead Eagles and BV Veendam before kick-off.
2. Brutal start
Nevertheless, FC Emmen started the match well. Coach Dick Lukkien’s team was put under pressure several times in their own half, but held their own and was able to attack the enemy goal a number of times. After just a few minutes, Mark Diemers gave a through ball to Jeremy Antonisse with an outside right, who rushed off and served Richairo Zivkovic. The pass was a bit too deep, so Ajax goalie Gerónimo Rulli reached it earlier.
“A brutal start,” Kolder observed. However, he noted that not all was well with the people of Emmen. “Ajax uses Dusan Tadic as a point of contact, who delivers the ball to the catching people Kenneth Taylor and Davy Klaassen. FC Emmen visibly has problems picking up those two. Ahmed El Messaoudi lets his man run too fast. In addition, there seems to be poor communication. Because who picks up who, and when? Sometimes they don’t seem to know.”
3. Ajax sets out lines
Ajax took the lead after more than 20 minutes. Not so much because of the disorganization in the back at FC Emmen, but from a corner kick. A falling ball was tapped in by right back Jorge Sánchez, just out of reach of goalkeeper Mickey van der Hart. Miguel Araujo claimed that a foul preceded it, but was not heard by the referee. In fact, the captain of FC Emmen received a yellow card for the fuss he made.
It was already the umpteenth corner kick for the capitals, who were clearly the better ones on the field. With Tadic as a point of contact and the movement around him, there was no stopping it. That turned out again after just under 40 minutes of play. Te Wierik had to go after Taylor, so that Steven Bergwijn had plenty of room at the far post to tap in a cross from Sánchez. The seemingly impossible task in advance seemed to have become impossible.
4. Danger curbed
As the match progressed, Kolder saw that Ajax could make less and less use of the emerging midfielders, who were served by Tadic. It was clear that at some point Lukkien instructed Veendorp from the side. “After that, Veendorp and El Messaoudi switched sides,” said Kolder. “That paid off. I haven’t really seen Taylor and Klaassen since then. The danger has been reasonably contained by that conversion.”
FC Emmen even got around to playing football and found the net. In the second half it was Ole Romeny with a flawless cross to Jeremy Antonisse, who shot the ball past Rulli. For a moment it became quiet in the Johan Cruijff Arena. FC Emmen occasionally made the game in the period after the tying goal, but in the end there was no great chance of the equalizer. Ajax did manage to score one more time, from a counter. Tadic eventually wrote it to his name.
5. Good presentation
“A great attack,” said Kolder, who did not see his prediction of 7-0 come true. “But it does say something that Ajax has to score here via a counter. FC Emmen has made it difficult for the team from Amsterdam. The team played well and was not overrun. That’s good. They may have no points, but could boast of a solid defense. FC Emmen presented itself well here, especially when you look at the difference in budget and player material.”