Ajax push PSV further into misery

Sunday 16 November 2008

Ajax beat PSV 4-1 this afternoon in the Amsterdam Arena and regain their position as joint leaders in the Eredivisie.

The victory was much deserved as apart from a short phase in the second half Ajax were the much better team.

PSV's low burning flame flared up in the first 20 minutes of the second half and it was in that period the team of Huub Stevens scored their only goal, but all-in-all the reigning champions were poor all around and it will take coach Stevens a lot of work to get his team back on track again.

Marco van Basten is beginning to get a bit of a name in Dutch football as a coach, because after his adventure in charge of the Dutch national team and his first 3 months at the helm in Amsterdam pundits are starting to call him a 'result coach'.

His track record with Oranje was impressive when you look at the statistics only, but the entertainment value of the games was very often below par.

His first months at Ajax reveal the same tendency: Ajax don't play the exciting offensive football Ajax fans have gotten used to over the last four decades, but they keep winning.

The 0-2 win over FC Twente was perhaps the best example of the new Ajax under Van Basten, when the Amsterdammers were pushed back for most of the 90 minutes but scored from the two only chances they had and took the three points.

Today it wasn't all like that, as Ajax played at home and are expected to make the game.

They did but it was never sparkling what the hosts had to offer.

It was however very effective and in the first half - although not creating much themselves - they didn't give away any chances and limited themselves to moving forward with two or three players only when there was a real opportunity.

PSV on the other side will drop a lot more points if they don't solve their problems soon.

Their problem seems to have a lot to do with their coach.

Twice today players showed a total lack of respect towards the bench and the way in which normally good players staggered over the pitch today showed they don't seem to be enjoying themselves very much.

It all changed briefly early in the second half when Stevens put on Danko Lazovic as a second forward next to Danny Koevermans.

It paid off instantly as within minutes Lazovic broke through on the right and laid on a perfect low cross for Afellay to score into an open goal at the far post.

It was the equalizer after Suarez had put Ajax ahead in the 27th minute.

The frustrated reaction of Lazovic towards the bench summed up what is going at PSV perfectly.

For some ten minutes the game was in balance then, until a brilliant effort by Emmanuelson on the edge of the box tipped the game again.

Emmanuelson's blasting shot from 15 meters out was blocked by Isaksson but Sulejmani - coming off the bench - reacted quickest and swept the lose ball into the net from five meters.

PSV were rocked by the second Ajax goal and when Pieters deflected a Suarez shot into his own goal shortly after the verdict was clear, even though the score was made even better for the home team by substitute Leonardo who made it 4-1 with just minutes to go.