Ajax Amsterdam survives even without Luis Suarez. The Dutch champions beat De Graafschap 2-0 last night at the Amsterdam ArenA, scoring one goal in each of the two halfs. Frank de Boer’s side dominated the entire meeting, while Graafschap came in the Holland capital hoping they would grab at least one point from the team with the best defense in Eredivisie. Leaders PSV and Ajax are the only two sides to concede 20 goals this season.
Foto Source: depers.nl
The first half saw the hosts creating several chances that didn’t end that well. Ajax had to wait until the 43rd minute to take the first lead of the meeting. El Hamdaoui brought the opening with two minutes remaining to make de Boer already think of team’s 13th success of the season.
As for the second half, it looked almost the same. Ajax kept dominating the game, but the second goal came earlier than the one from the first half. De Jong made it 2-0 in the 79th minute to make things look clear as possible. De Boer, too, knew his side wouldn’t lose the game.
The former Dutch legend used two substitutions. He replaced striker El Hamdaoui and left winger Sulejmani with A. Ozbiliz and V. Anita. On the other side, Darije Kalezic made the first change in the 67th minute, introducing H. Bargas and calling R. Poepon on the bench. S. Overgoor replaced P. Jungschlager just two minutes before Ajax’s second goal. De Jogn forced De Graafschap coach send defender T. Evers for Loran.
Ajax won the three points to stay third in the Eredivisie with 44 points in 22 games, six points behind leaders PSV and four behind second FC Twente. Concerning de Graafschap situation, they lie 12th in the Dutch league with 25 points in 22 games.
They conceded the ninth loss last night, but they will probably escape the relegation zone. Willem II, VW-Venlo, Excelsior and Feyenoord are the first four from the bottom. Willem won just seven points this season, thanks to four draws and one win.
Eredivisie next fixtures:
SC Heerenveen – NEC
Excelsior – AZ Alkmaar
PSV – ADO Den Haag
VW-Venlo – NAC Breda
Vitesse – Feyenoord
FC Utrech – FC Twente
FC Groningen – Willem II
Heracles – Roda JC
