Ajax has ended its record 2019 year with a stunning 6-1 against ADO Den Haag. Erik ten Hag’s team thus wins the winter championship, with a 3 point lead against second-placed AZ.
3 players make Eredivisie debut
With Lassina Traoré, Jurgen Ekkelenkamp and Ryan Gravenberch in the starting line-up of Ajax 1, the team’s last game of the year went from good to better. The young players merged seamlessly into Erik ten Hag’s line-up and played to a care-free 4-0 lead in the first half.
Hakim Ziyech took charge among the youngsters. He showed Ajax and his team mates the way to a lead by scoring the 1-0 goal in the 15th minute from the edge of the penalty kick area. Eight minutes laer, the Moroccan international sent the ball long, giving Donny van de Beek lots of space and freedom to sent the 2-0 goal past keeper Luuk Koopmans.
The veterans set a good example for the youngsters, giving them the courage to try their luck. Ekkelenkamp scored on a pass from Nico Tagliafico, and one minute later, Gravenberch saw his name on the scoreboard as well. The youngest player ever to make his debut in Ajax slalomed past 2 ADO players and sent the ball cleverly between post and keeper: 4-0. Ajax was in a comfortable lead.
Ajax waltzes to big lead
In the second half, Hakim Ziyech didn’t return to the field. Noa Lang took is place, but this didn’t change anything in Ajax’s efficiency. In the 49th minute, goal number 5 was on the scoreboard. Dusan Tadic passed to Traoré, and from the back line, the player from Burkina Faso returnd the ball to his Serbian team mate, who hit the mark: 5-0. This connection was in top form today; the 6-0 goal was the result of Tadic making a pass to Traoré, who scored with a header!
Sontje Hansen
When Sontje Hansen came onto the field with fifteen minutes left, the crowd only wanted one thing: Sontje on the scoreboard. The 17 year-old was cheered each time he touched the ball, and came close to scoring in the 83rd minute, but no cigar. But he did get a yellow card when he pulled on Erik Falkenburg during a promising ADO attack.
In the final minutes, ADO answered back when Lisandro Martínez hauled forward Crysencio Summerville down in the penalty kick area. John Goossens tarred Andre Onana’s clear sheet: 6-1.
Not long after that, it was over. Because of AZ’s loss earlier this weekend, Ajax is once ahead of the Alkmaar team by 3 points. Time for the winter break, and on to 2020!