Ajax has booked a flattering victory on Fortuna Sittard on Saturday. The team from Amsterdam came back from behind, partly due to two goals by Davy Klaassen and a hit by debutant Brian Brobbey, and won 5-2 against the Limburg bottom.
The club from Sittard took the brutal lead after seven minutes by a hit by George Cox, but before half time Ajax put things in order. Davy Klaassen found the net twice. Fifteen minutes before the end, eighteen-year-old Brobbey secured the win with his first Ajax goal with the 3-1, after which Dusan Tadic and Quincy Promes scored from the penalty spot. Cox determined the final score at 5-2 in injury time with a nice long shot.
Nicolás Tagliafico was missing from the match selection of trainer Erik ten Hag’s team. According to the coach, the 28-year-old left back was not fit for the match. He was replaced in the starting line-up by Lisandro Martínez. Tadic also got a rest with a view to Tuesday’s Champions League match against the Danish FC Midtjylland. He started on the bench, but came in midway through the second half.
Due to the victory over Fortuna Sittard, Ajax remains the leader in the Eredivisie. The number one of the last aborted season has eighteen points from seven games, three points more than number two Vitesse, which still plays against Willem II on Saturday evening.
Fortuna Sittard is still waiting for the first victory in the Eredivisie after the defeat in Amsterdam. The team of the troubled trainer Kevin Hofland is at the bottom with two points from seven matches.
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Fortuna Sittard celebrates George Cox’s early opening goal. The Limburgers did not hold out in Amsterdam for long. (Photo: Pro Shots)
Stroef Ajax falls behind early
After the disappointing 2-2 draw against Atalanta in the Champions League last Wednesday, Ajax got off the starting blocks in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. The team from Amsterdam made it difficult to pass the ball against Fortuna, which withdrew to its own half and was looking for quick outbreaks.
From such a counter the Limburgers surprisingly took the lead. Striker Zian Flemming got some space in the hostile half and found the rising left back Cox, who left Ajax goalkeeper André Onana without a chance with a shot in the far corner: 0-1.
Ajax was upset by Fortuna’s opening goal, but after more than half an hour it was helped in the saddle by referee Siemen Mulder, who punished a slight push on Lassina Traoré with a penalty kick. Davy Klaassen first hit the post from 11 meters, but in the rebound it was still hit.
Even before half-time, Ajax took the lead through Klaassen again. Traoré first headed a cross from David Neres on the bottom of the bar, but in the after-strike the midfielder was there like the chickens to put the 2-1 on the board.
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While the players of Fortuna Sittard are defeated on the ground, Brian Brobbey scores his first goal for Ajax on his debut. (Photo: Pro Shots)
Brobbey continues rich Ajax tradition
Even after the break Ajax could not impose its will on Fortuna, which kept it compact in the back and gave little away to the home club, which had to deal with a setback with the withdrawal of Noussair Mazraoui after 64 minutes. It was not yet clear on Saturday whether the Champions League match against FC Midtjylland will be in danger for the injured right back.
After 74 minutes the resistance of the strong resistant Fortuna broke. Eighteen-year-old Brobbey continued a rich Ajax tradition by scoring on his debut. The striker ran into a bouncing ball after Neres hit the inside of the post.
Then it went fast in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. Tadic used a penalty kick in the 86th minute after a handball by Fortuna’s Martin Angha, which referee Mulder only noticed after seeing the images along the field. For Tadic it was his 200th goal in the Eredivisie.
A few minutes later Ajax received another penalty after hands from Fortuna. Now Tadic gave the ball to Promes, who fired in flawlessly and put Ajax on a flattering 5-1. Cox eased the pain for Fortuna with a rock-hard long shot of at least 25 meters. The game had already been played long and wide by then.
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Substitute Dusan Tadic shoots in his 200th Eredivisie goal from the penalty spot. (Photo: ANP)
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