Trainer John van ‘t Schip called Ajax’s victory over FC Volendam (2-0) ‘an important first step’. “There was good energy in our team, especially in the first half,” he said. “And if you don’t win for so long, then of course it’s all about those three points.”
Van ‘t Schip only had two training sessions to prepare his team for the match against FC Volendam. “Still, I saw good patterns in our attacking play,” he said. “I can only blame us for missing so many opportunities. We should have distanced ourselves much earlier.”
Van ‘t Schip surprised with a starting place for 20-year-old Ar’Jany Martha, a former right winger who now plays as a left back. “Avila is not a left back and Sosa is still injured. That’s why we tried with him. He did very well and, in my opinion, was rightly voted man of the match. Although our goalkeeper also takes Mühren’s ball well. Diant Ramaj radiates a lot of peace.”
Van ‘t Schip impressed with his match review just before the match, several players said. “Everyone knows what I have been through in the last two years,” the coach referred to the disease from which his wife Daniëlle died three weeks ago. “The players also knew what happened, of course. I felt how they have tried to support me in recent days. I thanked them for that.”