No one ever thought possible that Ajax would choke on an amateur team. In Utrecht, Hercules, playing in the third division, was too strong 3-2. Although Ajax fought back from a deficit, things still went wrong in injury time. As a result, the Amsterdammers are eliminated from the KNVB cup tournament and for the first time by an amateur team.
Ajax played against Hercules with a decent B-set. Carlos Forbs, Georges Mikautadze and Chuba Akpom were preferred up front and a place was reserved for Axel Dongen’s Amourricho in midfield. Just like last Sunday, trainer John van ‘t Schip, who is at his son’s wedding in Australia, was missing. Assistant coach Michael Valkanis replaced him again.
Disadvantage against amateurs
The match, which was played in Galgenwaard Stadium in front of around 6,000 spectators, had a difficult opening phase. The field was in very poor condition and that made football difficult. Ajax’s weak attitude also did not help. Hercules, which plays in the third division, took the lead after just over fifteen minutes. Tim Pieters rounded off after Gaston Avila fumbled in the back. The attacker was free in the box after a good action on the back line.
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Ajax had little to complain about. Forbs had the best chance of the first half, but he needed too much time. Ultimately, Akpom did finish, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Towards half-time, Ajax only became dangerous with long shots and Hercules easily held on.
Greater damage
After the break, Valkanis immediately made three substitutions. Brian Brobbey, Benjamin Tahirovic and Ar’Jany Martha had to make the difference. The pace was too slow to really destroy Hercules and the amateurs grew more and more into the match. Halfway through the second half, the Domstedelingen scored the second goal of the evening. Pieters got the ball after a nice combination in his own half, rounded Anton Gaaei and shot hard from outside the sixteen behind Diant Ramaj: 0-2.
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Ajax’s cup elimination was suddenly seriously looming. But they had two big chances almost immediately after the second goal. Both Taylor and Mikautadze had outwitted goalkeeper Vonk with a shot, but twice a defender took the ball off the line. The damage to Ajax could have been even greater. After neatly taking the shot, Franslyn Nsingi was able to pass the ball into Ramaj, while he had the choice of the corner.
Crazy final phase
In the 83rd minute Brobbey brought the tension back again. He scored the 1-2 after a good pass from Tahirovic. Miraculously, Ajax still managed to draw level. Two minutes before the end, Akpom tapped in after a low cross, after which the teams seemed to be heading for extra time. In the third minute of extra time, Mats Grotenbreg made it 3-2 for Hercules.
Ajax ends the eventful year in a dramatic manner. The club was last in the Premier League and went through a managerial malaise and has now been eliminated from the cup by an amateur team.
Ajax line-up: Ramaj; Gooijer, Sutalo, Avila, Hato; Taylor, Van Axel Dongen, Hlynsson; Forbs, Mikautadze, Akpom
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