16 OCT 2021; Heerenveen - Ajax; Match Day 9
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16 OCT 2021; Heerenveen - Ajax; Match Day 9
Ajax hit the road to play Heerenveen with a team that will be missing a number of starting players. Because of WC matches, Alvarez, Martinez, Antony, & Tagliafico won't be returning in time to train. Rensch was hurt yesterday in the Jong Oranje match, going down with a hamstring injury and may not be available. A key CL match with Dortmund comes up next Tuesday and it will be interesting to see if Haaland is fit as he missed the last two club games and the WC qualifiers for Norway.
Appie Nouri will forever be remembered for his grace and humanity on and off the pitch!
Re: 16 OCT 2021; Heerenveen - Ajax; Match Day 9
Schuurs,Klaassen and Kudus start. Martinez on the bench but the other 3 missing .Our starting lineup is still very strong with Neres,Rensch and Daramy also on the bench.
Re: 16 OCT 2021; Heerenveen - Ajax; Match Day 9
1-0 haller. nice pass by blind to tadic who runs around the defender. glad to see haller make that one
Re: 16 OCT 2021; Heerenveen - Ajax; Match Day 9
Ajax will get killed on counters against Dortmund if they give the ball up as cheaply as they did in the first half. This is the one aspect of the game they need to really tighten up.
Appie Nouri will forever be remembered for his grace and humanity on and off the pitch!
Re: 16 OCT 2021; Heerenveen - Ajax; Match Day 9
Another goal should be enough but agree they need to watch the counters.
Re: 16 OCT 2021; Heerenveen - Ajax; Match Day 9
we are all over the place. not a great confidence builder with haaland and co coming over on Tuesday
Re: 16 OCT 2021; Heerenveen - Ajax; Match Day 9
2-0 neres. hopefully this is it
Re: 16 OCT 2021; Heerenveen - Ajax; Match Day 9
Not a great game very few chances but Neres goal made sure.Martinez coming on did make our defence tighter but not much creativity. Alvarez and Martinez will both start v Dortmund which will make our defence more solid and Antony will be a bonus.
Berghuis was moderate and Neres apart from the goal did nothing.
Berghuis was moderate and Neres apart from the goal did nothing.
Re: 16 OCT 2021; Heerenveen - Ajax; Match Day 9
Full credit to Pasveer who came up with some big saves and gets the MOTM award from me. Ajax were cruelly exposed on a number of counters but Heerenveen could not find the net on the night. Maybe some of this was because of the absence of Alvarez in the MF. Blind looked to be lost on defense, too often up the field leaving Schuurs to defend attackers and he did a very good job of that. Tadic had two nice assists but otherwise was ordinary and he has difficulty beating defenders these days. IMO, Daramy who has great speed needs to get more playing time on the left side. Dortmund won today with Haaland back in the lineup. Ajax will face a stern test on Tuesday and their hopes of making it to the knock out round may well depend on a good result.
Player Ratings:
Pasveer (8) - some very good saves kept Heerenveen from scoring
Blind (6) - just above ordinary for him
Schuurs (7.5) - made some crucial interventions when dealing with a speedy winger one on one
Timber (7) - was better in the MF than on the back line
Mazraoui (7) - nice match playing much of the time in the Heerenveen half
Gravenberch (6) - started off as the holding MF and saw little of the ball
Klaassen (6.5) - worked hard as usual but his touch let him down more than I like
Kudus (6) - had some good plays but some sloppy give aways
Tadic (6.5) - the assists were there and that was about it
Haller (6.5) - put away the match winner early on but didn't have much of a chance later on
Berghuis (6) - above average but didn't influence things
Neres (6.5) - came on as a sub and was lively getting a nice goal on an open header
Martinez (6.5) - defense markedly improved with his entry
Rensch (5.5) - on for Mazraoui and had a couple of touches
Daramy (5.5) - speed to burn and almost combined with Taylor for a goal
Taylor (5.5) - on late
Player Ratings:
Pasveer (8) - some very good saves kept Heerenveen from scoring
Blind (6) - just above ordinary for him
Schuurs (7.5) - made some crucial interventions when dealing with a speedy winger one on one
Timber (7) - was better in the MF than on the back line
Mazraoui (7) - nice match playing much of the time in the Heerenveen half
Gravenberch (6) - started off as the holding MF and saw little of the ball
Klaassen (6.5) - worked hard as usual but his touch let him down more than I like
Kudus (6) - had some good plays but some sloppy give aways
Tadic (6.5) - the assists were there and that was about it
Haller (6.5) - put away the match winner early on but didn't have much of a chance later on
Berghuis (6) - above average but didn't influence things
Neres (6.5) - came on as a sub and was lively getting a nice goal on an open header
Martinez (6.5) - defense markedly improved with his entry
Rensch (5.5) - on for Mazraoui and had a couple of touches
Daramy (5.5) - speed to burn and almost combined with Taylor for a goal
Taylor (5.5) - on late
Appie Nouri will forever be remembered for his grace and humanity on and off the pitch!
Re: 16 OCT 2021; Heerenveen - Ajax; Match Day 9
3 positives from a moderate game
1. We won
2.Dutch FA allow us to wear the Bob Marley shirt with 3 little birds motif on the neck,we didn't v PEC
3. Our fans tonight had a big banner with Appie's face.Beautiful he wont be forgotten and the supporters show this.
1. We won
2.Dutch FA allow us to wear the Bob Marley shirt with 3 little birds motif on the neck,we didn't v PEC
3. Our fans tonight had a big banner with Appie's face.Beautiful he wont be forgotten and the supporters show this.
Re: 16 OCT 2021; Heerenveen - Ajax; Match Day 9
Yes. But in a Champions League game the speed is higher. An opponent like Dortmund plays more open.
The atmosphere is huge and you really have to show your A-game. Somehow if Ajax really get's challenged, we can play football at a higher speed and with more accuracy.
Re: 16 OCT 2021; Heerenveen - Ajax; Match Day 9
Maybe it was EtH tactics to push him up the pitch, I don't know. I can only see that Schuurs was left to defend one on one several times in the 2nd half. He did a good job but neither Gravenberch or Blind offered much support. Don't disagree about the passing.
Appie Nouri will forever be remembered for his grace and humanity on and off the pitch!
Re: 16 OCT 2021; Heerenveen - Ajax; Match Day 9
I was expecting this to be a banana peel so I’m quite happy with 2–0.
Biggest worry for me is Gravenberch. If you can’t stop Joey Veerman walking the ball past you I’m not sure you should play holding midfield in the CL. He didn’t contribute anything positive to the attack in this game either.
Biggest worry for me is Gravenberch. If you can’t stop Joey Veerman walking the ball past you I’m not sure you should play holding midfield in the CL. He didn’t contribute anything positive to the attack in this game either.
Re: 16 OCT 2021; Heerenveen - Ajax; Match Day 9
Agree about Blind's passing being outstanding but he pushed up field too much leaving the left flank open. Dortmund will play an attacking game which will suite us.