With playful ease, Ajax has qualified for the quarter-finals of the KNVB Cup tonight. The amateurs of Excelsior Maassluis were played from pillar to post in Amsterdam: 9-0. Especially striker Danilo had it on his hips with four goals.
Nico Tagliafico opened the score against the second divisionist in the eighth minute. The Argentinian, who has lost his regular base place at Ajax, shot in nicely from about twenty meters. When Amourricho van Axel Dongen was knocked down in the penalty area moments later, Danilo got the chance to finally break the resistance of the visitors. The Brazilian kept cool and used the penalty: 2-0.
With that goal, Danilo was loose, as he completed a hat-trick in the first half. The striker took care of the third and fifth Ajax goal with tappers. In between, Jong Ajax captain Youri Regeer brightened up his starting position with his first goal. With a low shot he outwitted goalkeeper Jean-Paul van Leeuwen.
Basic players get rest, but score increases
Trainer Erik ten Hag left Antony, Davy Klaassen and Jurriën Timber in the locker room at halftime. They were given a rest with a view to Sunday’s top match against leader PSV. Daramy, Kristian Hlynsson and Naci Ünüvar got the chance to prove themselves.
Danilo also continued to score in the second half. He got a lot of space from the Excelsior Maassluis defense and scored via an opponent: 6-0. The hunger of Ajax was not satisfied, because via Hlynsson and Daramy the team from Amsterdam quickly ran to 8-0.
On the hunt for 10-0
The only setback was the failure of Ünüvar. He appeared to be suffering from ribs and was replaced by Ryan Gravenberch half an hour after his substitute. With the midfielder in the squad, Daramy scored the ninth goal with his second of the evening. At that moment Ajax played with ten men, because Danilo got cramp and could not continue. He could not be substituted, because Ten Hag had already taken five players off the side.
The will to score the tenth goal was there, but the final pass was not careful enough in the final minutes to make it 10-0. The draw for the quarter-finals is on Saturday evening. In any case, Ajax knows that it will play at home again. The possible opponents are AZ, Vitesse, Go Ahead Eagles and NAC Breda.
Ajax setup: Gorter; Rensch, Timber (Ünüvar/46, Gravenberch/74), Schuurs, Tagliafico; Regeer, Klaassen (Hlynsson/46), Taylor; Antony (Daramy/46), Danilo, Van Axel Dongen (Berghuis/56)