Weary victory for AZ over Volendam
Sunday 18 January 2009
AZ can't seem to lose at the moment,
because despite playing far from great this afternoon
they scored twice, didn't concede and took the three
points.
It was the seventh victory in a
row and the seventh shutout in a row making it a series
of 16 games without a defeat for the team of Louis van
Gaal.
In doing so they remain league
leaders three points ahead of Ajax Amsterdam.
At first it seemed to be a very
easy afternoon for AZ on the artificial turf in Volendam.
Van Gaal had prepared his team
for the plastic soil extensively and in the first 20
minutes AZ fully dominated the hosts and went 1-0 up
after only 11 minutes.
Demi de Zeeuw played a great steep
ball through the air to Ari, who outsmarted his marker
and beat keeper Jeroen Verhoeven with a brilliant lob.
It the Brazilian's eighth goal
in nine games for AZ.
The visitors then failed to push
through and decide the game at an early stage and that
gave the home team the chance to fight themselves back
into the game.
They created two good chances but
first Jack Tuyp and then Gerson Sheotahul were unable
to convert.
It showed that the AZ defense is
vulnerable in the absence of Héctor Moreno and
Niklas Moisander, who will be out for a few more weeks.
After the break Volendam threatened
without creating very much while AZ limited themselves
to a few counter attacks from which Mendes da Silva
decided matters ten minutes from the end.
Volendam-AZ Alkmaar 0-2
0-1 11' Ari
0-2 79' Mendes da Silva
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