1/2 Willem II defender Jens Mathijsen against Mika Godts. (Photo: Joris refers/orange pictures)
Willem II ran into a 1-2 defeat against Ajax on Sunday afternoon at his own field. The Tilburgers took the lead before the break by Emilio Kehrer, but in the last fifteen minutes invaders Oliver Edvardsen and Wout Weghorst gave the leader from Amsterdam the three points.
Surprising name in the base of Willem II was the only 17-year-old Jens Mathijsen. The son of 84-time international Joris fell three times a few minutes this season, but was allowed to show Ajax for the first time from the start.
Trainer Peter Maes chose the talent for the absence of, among others, Mickaël Tirpan, who is currently out of circulation because of the rare disease sarcoidosis. Mathijsen had to deal with the fast and agile Mika Godts as a right back and soon ran into a yellow card.
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Duel
The first half was not good for the football, but the game was entertaining. The game wandered up and down, with chances on both sides. Ajax was close to the 0-1 in the initial phase, but goalkeeper Thomas Didillon-Hödl kept his goal clean after a header by Ahmetcan Kaplan.
For the Tilburgers, striker Jeremy Bokila was dangerous when he appeared in front of the Amsterdam goal, but his shot was way too wild and missed direction. After 41 minutes, the King Willem II Stadium exploded. Emilio Kehrer got the ball through Bokila in front of his feet, played an opponent and hit hard: 1-0.
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Switches made a difference
The 1-0 halftime score was surprising and Willem II knew that it could expect an attacking Ajax in the second half. Yet the Amsterdammers were unable to put little danger.
The points of Ajax trainer Francesco Farioli eventually made the difference. With, among others, Wout Weghorst and Oliver Edvardsen, the Italian brought in fresh forces and they made the difference with their goals in the final phase of the match.
Goalkeeper Didillon-Hödl prevented the 1-3 with good goalkeeper work, so Willem II stayed alive. However, the home team no longer came to great opportunities.
Latter victory
So the bad series of Willem II did not end. The last victory booked the Tilburgers on December 22, 2024 when NEC was beaten 4-1. The hole with the bottom two teams RKC Waalwijk and Almere City FC remains five points. The difference with the fifteenth place where NAC now stands is now seven points. There are still five games to play in which Willem II hopes to play safely.
