Mar 07, 2024 at 8:35 PM Update: 3 days ago
Ajax drew 0-0 on Thursday evening in the first match of the diptych against Aston Villa. The Amsterdam team thus keeps an eye on the quarter-finals of the Conference League.
The Amsterdam team had the best chances in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. Before halftime, Brian Brobbey missed face to face with Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez. After halftime, Kenneth Taylor encountered the same Argentinian goalie.
The number four in the Premier League offered little in return. Ezri Konsa had to be sent off just before the end, just like Ajax back Tristan Gooijer. The team from Amsterdam kept a clean sheet for the second time in a row.
Ajax coach John van ‘t Schip had again opted for a 5-4-1 formation. The starting line-up was the same as during the won match against FC Utrecht (2-0) on Sunday. Steven Bergwijn and Steven Berghuis were missing due to injuries.
The return between Ajax and Aston Villa will be played next Thursday at Villa Park in Birmingham. The winner of the diptych qualifies for the quarter-finals of the Conference League.
Brian Brobbey, here in a duel with Aston Villa player John McGinn, had the biggest chance for Ajax. Photo: Pro Shots
Ajax is once again giving little away
“We don’t want to give away too much against a strong opponent,” Van ‘t Schip said in advance about the choice to have Ajax play in a 5-4-1 formation again. The sixty-year-old coach, a Johan Cruijff adept par excellence, was no longer secretive about the fact that Ajax would not play in a 4-3-3 formation.
Ajax has conceded goals in a distressing manner in recent weeks. But the new system has made the team more defensively stable.
The team from Amsterdam kept a clean sheet for the first time since November 25 in the match they won against FC Utrecht on Sunday. It was a sign that it is finally no longer such an open house as, for example, against FK Bodø/Glimt (1-2). Ajax was outplayed close to the Arctic Circle in the previous Conference League round and miraculously escaped elimination.
The only question was whether Ajax would also have the defensive security against the number four of the Premier League. There was no honest answer to that question on Thursday evening. Trainer Unai Emery, who previously won the Europa League with Sevilla (three times) and Villarreal (once), decided to rest several important players. Captain John McGinn, winger Leon Bailey and right back Matty Cash all started on the bench.
Van ‘t Schip did not give his players any rest, partly because he hopes that they will master the system better the more often they play together.
Brobbey gets the best chance
This turned out to pay off against the English players who were in it. The task-conscious Amsterdam players were disciplined and gave little away under the leadership of the young Jorrel Hato and strong Turkish defender Ahmetcan Kaplan.
Defensively, only Borna Sosa was a dissonance. Before halftime, the Croat let his agile opponent Moussa Diaby walk several times. Ajax did not string together opportunities either, but did get a number of them by looking for depth behind the Aston Villa rearguard. It went exactly as Van ‘t Schip had predicted.
Director Jordan Henderson did this several times, as did playmaker Sivert Mannsverk. Sosa was released on the left several times, after which he often delivered a disappointing cross towards Brobbey. Brobbey did get into a good position via Hato, but face to face with the Argentine world champion Martínez, the striker failed just before half time.
Ajax will cherish a draw
Nevertheless, Ajax showed that it had made progress defensively in recent weeks. This was also visible after the break, although the team from Amsterdam had a difficult time, especially shortly after the break. But the visitors did not get any great opportunities in a full Johan Cruijff ArenA, even after the heavyweights from Birmingham had entered the team.
It was disappointing for the team from Amsterdam that a goal was not forthcoming, while Taylor had been given a giant chance after the break on the advice of the now good-looking Sosa. The Alkmaarder shot straight at the fists of Martínez, who had already thwarted the Dutch team in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar.
In a match full of battle, Konsa (Aston Villa) and Gooijer (Ajax) were sent off the field with two yellow cards after fouls on Chuba Akpom and Nicolò Zaniolo respectively. There were no goals scored in the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
Yet Ajax will cherish the draw against a Premier League club in this disastrous season. In November, the team had nothing to say against Brighton & Hove Albion (0-2 defeat). A nice European campaign could add some shine to the season, as fourth place seems to be the highest achievable in the Eredivisie.
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