In a well-filled stadium, Steven Bergwijn and Chuba Akpom scored for Ajax. Last year's meeting with Volendam ended in a 1-1 draw. With the victory, Van ’t Schip makes a positive return to the Johan Cruijff ArenA. The Ajax coach had previously been on the Ajax bench in 2008 as assistant coach to Marco van Basten. After that, he was also head coach for one match after Van Basten departed in May 2009.
Playing at home, Ajax clearly had the upper hand in the first half, although it was difficult to create major opportunities against the compact FC Volendam. Bergwijn did hit the crossbar at one point after a good individual play. The debutant Ar'Jany Martha also immediately made a good impression in the left-back position.
In the second half, it was ultimately the captain Bergwijn who broke the spell for Ajax. The attacker drew to the centre and fired a hard shot into the mesh for 1-0. The visitors pressed for the equaliser and had Ajax on the ropes for a moment. Robert Mühren had the best opportunity, but found Diant Ramaj in his way. Ultimately, the substitute Akpom brought the tension to an end with an effective header.
Ajax - FC Volendam 2-0 (0-0)
57. Bergwijn 1-0
89. Akpom 2-0
Ajax: Ramaj, Gaaei, Šutalo, Hato, Martha (65. Salah-Eddine), Van den Boomen, Hlynsson (85. Godts), Taylor (80. Vos), Berghuis, Brobbey (79. Akpom), Bergwijn
