For Ajax tonight it was at times a fighting match against FC Twente. After ninety minutes of fighting, the team from Amsterdam remained standing and the Tukkers were knocked out: 0-1. As a result, Ajax is in the last eight in the cup tournament. Trainer John Heitinga spoke at ESPN about a hard-fought victory: “Not easy to win here.”
Heitinga thought that Ajax and Twente were evenly matched. He saw that his team struggled in the first half. “The public then also supported it. After the break we got into it better and scored a good goal. That was good for self-confidence, because it is not easy to win here.”
“The most important thing is that we go one round further,” Heitinga continues. “We can compete as a team, you saw that at the end. When you come here, you know that a team is fighting. Then it is nice if you can roll up your sleeves and keep a clean sheet.”
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Mohammed Kudus scored for the third game in a row and was therefore again important for Ajax. “Personally, I also feel better now,” he admits to ESPN. “We win games and that’s the most important thing. Football goes with ups and downs. When things go bad, you have to keep supporting each other.”
To trust
The confidence of Heitinga, the trainer chose Kudus three times, does the Ghanaian good. “He believes in me and in this role I have a lot of freedom. I keep learning and I do my best for the team in every position.”