Jong AZ has settled with Helmond Sport at home after a nerve-wracking match. The Brabanders played with ten men for half an hour due to Mohammed Mallahi’s red card. The final score of 2-1 had already been reached.
The start for Jan Sierksma’s team was miserable. Hakon Lorentzen struck for the visitors within a minute. Jong AZ, however, straightened out. And before half time, Finn Stam and Jurre van Aken provided the Alkmaar lead. After the break, Helmond killed itself. After Mallahi’s stupid red card, Helmond still pushed for the equalizer, but AZ’s promises easily survived.
Going crazy
The maker of the winning 2-1, Jurre van Aken, was obviously crazy. “Do you ever play golf? I learned how to make such a marker there. It was actually a striker’s goal,” said the right back. Van Aken also saw that AZ head coach Pascal Jansen was in the stands: “We certainly put ourselves in the spotlight. It’s always nice when you can show up like that. We deserve this.”
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Sierksma critical
Jong AZ is dealing with one team after another at home. Head coach Sierksma sees a pattern: “As a trainer, I continue to look critically. We must also be able to bring this to away games. But I told the boys that this is very good and that they can enjoy it,” said the coach.
The victory put Jong AZ in ninth place on the left. SC Cambuur can still beat the youngsters from Alkmaar. They will play against ADO tomorrow in The Hague. For Jong AZ, the promise clash against PSV is on the program after the international break.