Ajax were soon trailing behind in the Philips Stadium, following a header from Luuk de Jong. "You could tell straight away what kind of match it was going to be", Heitinga sighed. "We had our opportunities and chances, but we didn't score. They were so much better than us."
Although the manager really wasn't pleased with his team, he still spotted a few chances for Ajax. Steven Bergwijn, for example, had a chance to equalise just before half-time, but Kenneth Taylor perhaps came closest to scoring for Ajax in the second half. His shot from outside the box hit the inside of the post twice.
"We were trailing 2-0 thanks to a penalty. We bring it on ourselves. Then, after a short half-time, Taylor's chance came. Brian Brobbey also got two or three shots at it. But today, we were doomed to lose. We expect rather more in these major clashes. As a player you have to want things to go better. It's a hard lesson."
Cup final in Rotterdam
After the defeat in Eindhoven, the cup final follows next week against the same opponents: PSV. "That's when we can take our revenge. The squad has to spark into action."
"Everyone will have to cope with this defeat in their own way. We will have to look back at this match carefully and critically, and ask ourselves: what's happening each time?"
