Ajaxtalk

One really has to wonder why this team was celebrating at the end of a match that was just an awful display of football. Any semblance to Ajax football of the past was not in evidence today in Groningen. Exactly two good plays that led to goal amidst a match were they were constantly pushed off the ball by a more physical team and almost undone by a wretched display of officiating (Kevin Blom, if you got paid for this match donate you paycheck to charity you did not earn it). Down to 10 men with the sending off of Veltman and then all of the sudden Neres puts the ball into the mixer it bounces back to Kluivert who finds Huntelaar for what was a perfect clinical finish. I guess Onnana has to be MOTM for the PK save and a couple of other good saves (it was a mystery why he received a Yellow card in added time). The team sill has a chance at the championship though even a third place finish is not out of the question if AZ win out.

It was striking that the club resorted more to Frank de Boer U turn football than what we saw last season under Bosz and in earlier matches this year. I continue to have doubts about ten Haag and thought several times that the players had just quit on him until the final five minutes of the match. There was just too much standing around and everyone was too selfish when they had the ball. It was a disgusting victory.

Player Ratings:

Onana (8) - great saves today to keep the tally to just one goal conceded
Tagliafico (5) - OK and sure he should have buried the header late in the 2nd half but I'll cut him some slack because he is a FB
de Ligt (5) - good in the second half but woeful defending on the Groningen goal
Veltman (4.5) - sloppy on the ball at times and unjustifiably called for a hand ball when it was clearly ball to hand
Kristensen (4) - defensively questionable all match long
Schöne (2.5) - slow does not begin to describe his play today
van de Beek (4) - didn't help create much of anything
Ziyech (3.5) - Ajax tried to run everything through him and except for a couple of passes everything failed; shooting was wild and not on frame
Kluivert (4) - buried the first goal but of course wasn't marked and then delivered the pass to Hunelaar for the match winner; other than that he was just plain poor
Huntelaar (5.5) - buried the shot to win the game but was sadly not passed to by teammates when he made good runs to get open
Neres (4) - too selfish today and other than the pass to set up the match winner was poor
S de Jong (4.5) - just a shade below average
Eiting (5) - not sure if he even got a touch
Wöber (NR) - on in extra time after the goal for defense but never invovled

Veltman got his 1st yellow for protesting a dreadful ref mistake I believe but agree he should not have got a 2nd yellow.

We were very poor and Kluivert I guess the best on field player as he had a good last 30 mins.He Donny and Matthijs all fought well in that last 30 mins.Neres too. Ziyech a waste of space hope he sods off in the summer.
Onana MOM he saved us.

Sorry Sierhuis didn't come on but KJH was Mr Cool. No apologies but we have all these lovely talented kids but I still love the old man.

Kristensen and Zeefuik are not good enough we still need a new RB

Fair ratings but not 4 for Kluivert, a 5. Poor 60 mins but he scored one and set up the winner and was trying in that last 30 mins.

SPL schreef:Veltman got his 1st yellow for protesting a dreadful ref mistake I believe but agree he should not have got a 2nd yellow.

Hand ball in the box is an automatic Yellow card, or should be. If he got the call for dissent it was a double bad call by Blom.

SPL schreef:
Sorry Sierhuis didn't come on but KJH was Mr Cool. No apologies but we have all these lovely talented kids but I still love the old man.

There were about a half dozen times that KJH made good runs to get open and was never passed to by teammates!!! He is the only one other than Onanana who had a decent match.

Commentary said he got yellow for abusing the referee....in fact, he even pushed him, slightly!!! Might have been red in EPL !!

Laughing now...watching Zenit play against UFA, in Siberia....snowy pitch - white ball.....??? Referee was asked about the ball but declined orange....seems to have the same logic as Bloom!!!

Hahaha...UFA just changed to yellow ball....almost as bad!!! Where do they get these referees from??

Bad post match comment from ten Hag on bringing on Siem de Jong.

Erik Ten Hag: ' The change of Siem was very good and that's why the game tilted ' http://netwerk.to/aw/44687 #groaja

https://www.ajaxlife.nl/updates/passmap ... roaja-1718 are the pass maps and expected goals that 11tegen11 did. For the first time in a long time Ajax came out on the lucky end of the stick as Groningen should have won this one!!