Ajax has advanced to the last eight of the KNVB Cup. It became 1-0 for the team from Amsterdam against FC Twente in Enschede. Mohammed Kudus scored the only goal.
As expected, coach John Heitinga opted against FC Twente for an unchanged starting eleven. Mohammed Kudus and Owen Wijndal were therefore again preferred to Brian Brobbey and Calvin Bassey. The first chances for the Tukkers were for former Ajax players. For example, Václav Černý headed out two defenders with one action and shot full towards goal. However, the ball sailed just wide.
Before that, an Anass Salah-Eddine had already tested goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli with a long shot. In the first half, Ajax had a hard time with Twente’s fighting football, which meant that the match was often interrupted. The Ajax players didn’t get any further than a shot from distance by Steven Berghuis. A free kick from Dusan Tadic, for example, went far over.
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Virgil Misidjan had the chance to put Twente ahead after the break. This time Rulli was again spoilsport by turning the ball. Kenneth Taylor forced Unnerstall into a save in the counterpunch. This turned out to be a starting shot for a better phase of Ajax with small chances. First a bicycle kick by substitute Francisco Conceicao went over and Berghuis also did not score. It was Kudus who opened the score after all. The ball was fumbled at the Ghanaian via Dusan Tadic and he hit: 0-1.
Despite a final offensive by Twente, no more goals were scored, so that Ajax qualified for the quarter-finals. The draw – without AZ – will be on ESPN next Saturday evening around 10.30 pm. RKC Waalwijk is the next opponent on Sunday.
Setup Ajax: Rulli; Rensch, Timber, Álvarez, Wijndal; Taylor (Bassey/76), Berghuis, Klaassen (Conceicao/58); Kudus, Tadic, Bergwijn (Brobbey/76)