The Amsterdam poison cup is not yet empty. In front of its own audience, Ajax lost the North Holland derby to AZ 1-2 without a chance. The team from Amsterdam have never had such a poor start to the season in their entire history. Branco van den Bomen scored for Ajax, but AZ already led with two goals after goals from Vangelis Pavlidis and Dani de Wit.
The match got off to a very slow start. Both teams played cautiously and created few chances. Myron van Brederode and Maykel Lahdo tried it from a distance for AZ and that was it for a long time. Ajax, which took office without the unfit Steven Berghuis and Josip Sutalo, did not manage to shoot once on the enemy goal in the first half. That made it very quiet in the Johan Cruijff Arena. It wasn’t until ten minutes before half time that there was some excitement. Carlos Forbs received a light tap from David Moller Wolfe in the Alkmaar penalty area. However, referee Allard Lindhout didn’t like it, much to the surprise of the Ajax fans.
Pavlidis
Yet there was still something to cheer about in the first half, at least for the six hundred AZ fans who traveled with us. Just before half time, Vangelis Pavlidis rammed the ball behind goalie Jay Gorter after a nice through pass from Lahdo. The Greek striker already has ten goals.
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With the goal, Pavlidis equals an Eredivisie record. The AZ striker scored in all eight games this season. Only Pétur Pétursson achieved this at the highest level in the Netherlands in 1979 on behalf of Feyenoord.
The White
After the break, Ajax continued to muddle along. Not much worked for Maurice Steijn’s team and AZ held on quite easily. The lead was even increased by the visitors in the 57th minute. After a smooth combination, Dani de Wit was the final stop. With this, the attacking midfielder from AZ hurt his old club even more: 0-2.
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Van Gaal
After the 0-2, Ajax’s faith disappeared. Louis van Gaal’s name was heard several times from the stands and the Amsterdam supporters watched their club’s poor play with dismay. Miraculously, the home team came back into the match. Substitute Branco van den Boomen made it 1-2 fifteen minutes before the end with a deflected shot.
Although everyone in the Johan Cruijff Arena cheered up for a moment after the tying goal, AZ did not seem really impressed by it. The team of coach Pascal Jansen, dressed in purple, was the most dangerous team and gave little away defensively. Ajax left the field again without any points in front of its own audience.
The loss leaves Ajax in a disappointing sixteenth place and therefore below the relegation line. AZ remains undefeated and has 22 points after eight games. Next weekend there will be international football and the Premier League will be on hold for a weekend.
Ajax line-up: Gorter; Rensch (Gaaei/46), Medic (Akpom/90), Avila, Hato; Vos (Van den Boomen/68), Taylor, Bergwijn; Forbs, Brobbey, Van Axel Dongen (Mikautadze/40)
AZ setup: Ryan; Sugawara, Bazoer (Martins Indi/71), Penetra, Moller Wolfe (Kasius/88); Clasie, Mijnans, D. De Wit; Lahdo (Sadiq/81), Pavlidis (Odgaard/79), Van Brederode
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