Ajax not sharp enough
AFC Ajax - NEC
0-0

KPN Eredivisie, Wednesday September 6, 2000, 20.15 hrs, Amsterdam ArenA

AFC Ajax - FC Groningen in:

All times CET Amsterdam

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34,000 Fans in the Amsterdam ArenA were witness to a dreadful match tonight - one in which Ajax lost two points in the race for the Dutch Championship. And man, what an irritating match it was! At the end of the 90 minutes a bloodless 0-0 was on the scoreboard.
Coach Johan Neeskens of the Nijmegen team was "very satisfied with the result." That, we can understand. But the negative football that NEC showed is a disgrace for the Dutch competition. That Ajax had no answer to these tactics is something the team can blame itself for. The forwards, especially, heard harsh words from Co Adriaanse - and quite rightly so. Both wingers, Andy van der Meyde on the right and Kevin Bobson on the left, made a lot of mistakes. All of their crosses were too hard, and both players lost many balls. As for Shota Arveladze....well..yeah...Shota Arveladze. He had a few good moments, but in 90 minutes there was just too little to be happy about.

In the entire 90 minutes of football (!) there were only two chances that looked like real scoring possiblities. They came from Jesper Gronkjaer (who replaced Bobson and played reasonably well), and from Andy van der Meyde. Gronkjear got off a good shot from an impossible angle, but hit the crossbar, and Andy van der Meyde's shot was cleared off the line by a NEC defender.

This Saturday FC Groningen comes to Ajax. For now we can all hope that assistent coach Peter Boeve is right when he says that "good training will help the players get on track." In the meantime PSV will be most happy with the Ajax' result tonight. As for the fans, they are already having a hard time believing in the fortunes of their beloved team.

Hajrá Ajax!!!!