RKC Waalwijk went to visit Ajax to rest with a 2-0 deficit. At that time it only seemed to be the question of how many goals the Waalwijk team would concede. It went completely different. RKC fought back to 2-2 and then made it very difficult for Ajax. Due to a utilized penalty kick from Dusan Tadic, RKC eventually lost 3-2.
RKC had to do it against Ajax without a number of regular base players. Captain Melle Meulensteen was not fit enough, while Etienne Vaessen and Alexander Büttner were ill. Trainer Joseph Oosting was also absent due to illness.
With assistant Peter Uneken now along the line of the field as head coach, RKC gave away few really big opportunities in the first phase of the match. The team from Amsterdam had some opportunities, but for Issam El Maach, Vaessen’s replacement under the bar, that did not pose any problems.
The goalie, who made his debut in the Eredivisie and has an Ajax past, saw after half an hour that RKC got the first chance on the other side of the field. Jens Odgaard got the ball into the penalty area and did not hesitate, his shot went over the back line via an Ajax leg. Two minutes later, Odgaard gave a good pass to Michiel Kramer after a fine play. He headed in hard from a few meters from the Ajax goal. Andre Onana managed to prevent the opening goal with a nice reflex.
Ajax turns on
RKC seemed to gain some confidence because of the chances. And just at that moment Ajax struck. It was an attack from the book, in which the Waalwijkers were actually only a spectator. Sébastian Haller was the end station of a nice attack. He tapped the ball into the goal. A few minutes later it was again Haller who managed to score. Antony gave the cross, Haller took it with the chest and fired straight away. He left El Maach without a chance.
The goalkeeper, who already came into action for RKC in the cup tournament, ensured with a few saves that Ajax did not really distance themselves from his team in the first half. At first Tadic seemed to pass him with a lob, but he just managed to pluck the ball out of the air. On the stroke of half-time, he stormed out of his goal when Perr Schuurs was allowed to shoot at goal from a few meters away. He made it so difficult for the Ajax defender that a third Ajax goal was not scored.
All the way back
Ajax immediately looked for the attack after the break. It seemed to be waiting for a third goal from the home team. But out of nowhere RKC scored the connecting goal. Kramer was sent into the depths by Odgaard. Face to face with Onana, the striker remained calm, he pushed in the 2-1. A few minutes later, the more than two hundred RKC supporters who had traveled with them went completely crazy when Richard van der Venne scored the equalizer.
El Maach saw Odgaard go and with a long kick he sent him deep. The attacker then had an eye for the incoming Van der Venne, who left Onana no chance: 2-2.
After just over an hour of play, Antony seemed to give Ajax the lead again, but it was El Maach who managed to tap the ball wide with his fingertips. With seven minutes left on the clock, it was almost 3-2 again: Haller’s header hit the post. It was the start of a real final offensive. And while Ajax was thinking of winning, Odgaard almost managed to surprise Onana with a watched ball.
It was not RKC’s only chance at a 2-2 score. After 65 minutes Kramer was already standing with his hands in the air. Van der Venne came in a promising position, but he needed too much time and was unable to make the beautiful RKC story even more beautiful at that time.
Dramatic ending
Those hands didn’t go up in the air in the end, but in disbelief before the eyes. In the last minute of official playing time, Ajax was awarded a penalty after a stupid foul by Luuk Wouters. El Maach then had no chance on Tadic’s bet, so that a fighting RKC was eventually left empty-handed.