17 JAN 2016 ADO den Haag - Ajax Match Day 18

[Orange14]

Winter champions Ajax make the short trip to Den Haag to take on ADO as the "spring" session of the Eredivise begins after the break. Klaassen and el Ghazi missed the friendly with Hamburg and Sinkgraven is back healthy. Let's hope that FdB gets the tactics right as the club looks to retake the championship.

[SPL]

Klaassen is out as his knee is still not right. Midfield Bazoer Gudelj and probably Sinkgraven with v d Beek coming on for him in the 2nd half.

[Dave the mac]

Really looking forward to getting my weekly Ajax fix once again! Hope the squad had a good rest and looks like Klaassen is the only one on the sick list. Will be interesting to see who fills his spot. I don't mind Klaassen being out as I've often find him frustrating, he is a tireless runner with amazing stamina and a great captain, but his passing is not always so great, and he's rather static when Ajax has possession. Not a classic #10.

Hope the defense is as solid as in the first half. Only allowing 11 goals I think set a record. All four starters have been outstanding and Dijks gets forward very often and whips in some very good crosses. Both Tete and he are fast and keep their direct opponents from causing very little havoc.

Even though Ajax is searching for another striker I'm very okay with Milik. He's only 21 and has 8 goals along with 7 assists. Ajax does lead the Eredivisie in goals scored.

den Haag, as most all teams, get up to play Ajax. Their game of the season is when Ajax comes to town! I hope Ajax disappoints them.

[SPL]

Good morning from the cold South coast of England. Hope for a good win today and the PSV v Fword a draw. Sky sports live as usual thanks to the magic of the red button service.

v d Beek replaces Klaassen so Sinkgraven on the bench along with El Ghazi

[SPL]

oh boy what a glorious goal by Younes ,what skill 1-0 so now lets win

[SPL]

well so far so good thanks to a superb goal by Younes. ADO defending deep and well so not much chances for us .ADO will have to come out more so hope we can catch them get the 2nd which should be enough for us.

[rjf1]

Well-taken goal by Younes -- the one bright spot in an otherwise less than stellar display. Loads of pitty pat and loads of stupid fouls, and extremely little in the way of inspiration. I was really hoping for better what with the time off to work on things. Seems like they really worked on their pitty pat and not much else.

[Orange14]

One moment of brilliance among a the mediocre to average play. Again the midfielders are not creating any forward triangles at all. There is space just behind the front wall of ADO but nobody is taking advantage of it. The preferred approach is either over the top passes which have been foiled by the frontline players being a touch off side or diagonal passes which lead to the recipient being double teamed. Really need to do better as the club has not had a single shot on frame other than the Younes goal.

[SPL]

Maybe need to bring Sinkgraven on as he is a more creative MF.

[Tom_]

Just catching up on the comments after I missed the first half on a bike ride (glorious here today). Hopefully they turn it on for the second!

[SPL]

Cillessen injured ,kicked in face nose bleed,looks like he is going to carry on

[SPL]

Holding on at the moment fear an ADO goal

[Tom_]

Yuck, from what I saw not sure we deserved to win that. Oh well.

[rjf1]

Don't know how many times I've said it -- once you start with the pitty pat you turn the entire momentum of the game over to the other team. Pure luck (and poor finishing by the opposition) that we were able to hang on by the skin of our teeth. Same old, same old.

[SPL]

I can finally breath again we held on but were lucky especially as Havenaar missed a header. In the end we created 2 chances Fischer ,when El Ghazi came on and ElGhazi's header at the death looked to go over the line.

This is the type of game that wins titles. played poorly away from home and win.

Right a draw for FW v PSV would be great.

My MOM I guess Younes for his brilliant goal but Tete's defending is superb.

[Orange14]

Very poor play on the part of the two advanced midfielders: van de Beek and Bazoer who created absolutely no passing spaces at all. It was left to the back four to keep the Younes goal the winner. ADO pressed up the field quite well and it was the midfield's responsibility to move into the open spaces; they didn't. Not much else to say except to go straight to the

Player Ratings:

Cillessen (6.5) - bravely took on a tough challenge and stayed in the game but really didn't have to make any tough saves as almost every ADO shot was not on frame
Dijks (7) - solid match on defense; only effective going forward in the first half
Riedewald (7) - a couple of poor challenges takes off a half point but otherwise a rock on defense
Veltman (7.5) - solid on defense all match long
Tete (7.5) - MOTM for me totally controlling the right side of the defense
Gudelj (6.5) - not his fault that he had nobody to pass to, good defensive positioning all match long
van de Beek (3.5) - not able to recognize the free space in back of the front line presses from ADO
Bazoer (4) - marginally better than van de Beek and certainly not worth €25M based on this game
Younes (6) - great goal but otherwise mediocre
Milik (2.5) - didn't win much in the air or on the ground and was pretty much isolated all match long though maybe it's more the fault of the other forward players
Fischer (5) - gets an average score only for the defensive play he put in which was quite good; offensively mediocre
Sinkgraven (6) - better than van de Beek and Bazoer in the short shift he put in
el Ghazi (5) - probably should have shot on the break away rather than passing but his control touch wasn't all that good
Schöne (5) - had a nice opportunity to score but shot straight at the keeper.

Hope we are not going to see lots of nail biting 1-0 games going forward.

[Orange14]

Don't know how many times I've said it -- once you start with the pitty pat you turn the entire momentum of the game over to the other team.

Not necessarily. If you open up the spaces just past the front pressing of the opponent you can create opportunities. Ajax just cannot do this.

[SPL]

relief as my MOM was Tete and Orange comes up with the same man.Hedged my bet in case you went for Younes with the goal

[SPL]

I see even FDB would love Huntelaar back but if the great man came back would he get any chances from this non existant creative midfield.? Mind I would take him tomorrow. Sinkgraven should get playing time and Nouri should be put on the bench before too long, we need a creative MF

[Tom_]

Along with needing a new striker our wings are a problem and have been for a long time. Still wish FdB would get over the 4-3-3 thing and try with an extra MF...

[SPL]

I have just read that the fans chanted racist abuse at Bazoer , and the announcer warned them . In this world there is no place for such abuse, close the ground for 2 home games and take 6 points off them. If ,god forbid Ajax fans did the same I would meet out the same punishment.

[Ayman]

No matter which way you look at it, the fault lies with Frank de Boer, he has to GO! They need to snap up Ron Jans ASAP! He is the type of coach that can bring the best out of players. Otherwise he will end up in a different team, possibly in the premiership