AZ has recovered appropriately from the disappointing draw against Heracles Almelo (1-1) on Thursday. The Alkmaarders made the difference against Fortuna Sittard (4-0) in a strong second half. Jordy Clasie, Vangelis Pavlidis, Dimitris Siovas (ed) and Tiago Dantas were accurate.
AZ had a very difficult time in the opening phase against Fortuna Sittard. The Limburgers’ first chance came after a minute and a half. Tijjani Noslin fooled David Møller Wolfe and passed to Kaj Sierhuis. The striker from Jisp just headed over. Fortuna remained the most dangerous team in Alkmaar.
The stands started to grumble because of AZ’s poor play. The supporters were already dissatisfied by the disappointing draw against Heracles Almelo in midweek (1-1). Just before half time, the frown disappeared into a smile for the fans. Jordy Clasie made it 1-0 in injury time – against the odds. The captain scored beautifully from the edge of sixteen.
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As long as it took for the score to open, AZ’s second goal came so quickly. Vangelis Pavlidis, who has scored in every Premier League match so far, was the creator. He rounded goalkeeper Ivor Pandur and pushed the ball into the goal: 2-0. With a view to next Thursday, when Legia Warsaw is the opponent in the Conference League, coach AZ made a triple substitution.
Sven Mijnans, Myron van Brederode and Mayckel Lahdo left. Jens Odgaard, Tiago Dantas and Ruben van Bommel replaced them. These changes gave an extra boost to the Alkmaarders. Substitute Denso Kasius shot straight onto the crossbar, after which Dantas Pandur found his way. Kasius was ultimately responsible for the 3-0. His cross was deflected behind his own goalkeeper by defender Dimitris Siovas. In the final phase Dantas was also accurate: 4-0.
AZ will play against Legia Warsaw next Thursday. A few days later, Ajax is the opponent in the Premier League.
AZ setup: Ryan; Sugawara, Goes, Penetra, Møller Wolfe (Kasius/46); Clasie, Mijnans (Dantas/62), D. De Wit; Lahdo (Odgaard/62), Pavlidis, Van Brederode (Van Bommel/62)