One former Ajax player in particular caused problems for the visitors. "We weren’t able to play our way out from under FC Twente’s pressure. Kristian Hlynsson was drifting around. We wanted to step through the middle, but our communication wasn’t right."
Resilience
At that point, Ajax could be glad it was only 1–0 to the home side. Things looked completely different after the break, as the Amsterdam team overturned a 1–0 deficit into a 1–3 lead within seven minutes. "In the second half we got a grip on the game. The way we came out of the blocks, that’s the Ajax we want to see. We were more secure on the ball and the players made the right decisions. FC Twente had to defend bigger spaces, and a few of our lads knew exactly how to exploit that."
And so Heitinga found a very different Ajax dressing room after the final whistle than at half-time in Enschede. "The boys were disappointed at half-time. We felt we weren’t in control. We addressed a few things during the break and that worked. It’s nice to be taking these three points back to Amsterdam."
