All posts by Will Burns

The Ajax Conveyor Belt

September 24, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

Youth policy in football has gone on the ‘back-burner’ with the sudden riches in European football. Policies on youth and developing players from a small age has seemingly not been the intention of many clubs within the past decade however this has not been the case with Ajax, who have benefited from the lack of money Eredivisie to further grow young players in recent times writes Shane Burns.

The now world famous youth academy is arguably the most productive youth setup in world football currently. Barcelona’s successes have not halted their progress of their youth academy however, due to Ajax’s financial constraints in comparison to top European clubs, their over reliance on youth has benefited all parties involved and has proven to be a major success with the Amsterdammers.

Major comparisons to the cost of squads assembled seems to be a common trend amongst journalists lately. In October 2012, Ajax fielded a squad against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League, the total cost of starting XI’s was €162million worth of talent spent by Manchester City. Ajax had assembled their starting eleven on the faithful night in Amsterdam with a total cost of €4.2million. The final score at the Amsterdam Arena seen Ajax beat the then and now English Champions, 3-1. This further showed that the development of youth in Ajax over the past decade has produced players capable of showcasing, matching and in some cases beating players seen as better quality.

Unfortunately for Ajax fans is the short careers these academy products seem to have with Holland’s most famous club. With the lack of competitiveness, financial power and ability to attract some of the worlds best players, graduates move onwards to some of Europe’s biggest clubs for large sums of money with the latest being Daley Blind who moved to Manchester United for €15million. Yes this is no doubt pleasing for the board of Ajax but it also means it’s now time for the next round of youth products to mark their stamp on Frank De Boer’s team.

Most of The Netherlands most iconic personalities have been products of the development stage at the Ajax academy. Edgar Davids, Dennis Bergkamp, Johan Cruyff, the De Boer brothers, Marco Van Basten, and Edwin Van Der Sar are some of the most iconic figures in recent times which further enhances the reputation the academy has received over the past generation or so.

The latest crop of players are already being talked about amongst the first team staff at the club. Eighteen year old defender Shaquil Sno is the highly sought after with clubs like Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund being linked with the Jong Ajax defender.

It’s not just the development of youth in Holland the club are interested in taking as in 2011 the club signed a deal with All Star consultancy to set up fifteen youth academies throughout Greece, the island of Corfu and Cyprus. The intention is to use the setups as a hub of attraction and to obtain the best young footballing talents in south East Europe. An area that is currently unoccupied by no other large football academy.

It’s fair to say it that the fast pace of development of some of europe’s finest youth players, has left most, even those critical of Ajax, that it won’t be long before another Clarence Seedorf, Johan Cruyff or Marco Van Basten burst onto the scene and become one of football’s greatest.

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EERSTE DIVISIE, EERSTE DIVISIE REPORT

Eerste Divisie Week 7 Round-up

September 23, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

Round 7 of the Dutch Eerste Divisie began on Friday evening with seven matches on the opening evening writes Kalkeren Kieran.

We start with a 3-2 win for VVV-Venlo over Almere City FC, the home side were cruising going into half time with a 2-0 lead through goals from Mevlin Platje and Danny Post but Almere came out the stronger of the two sides after the break as the attempted to salving something from the game, Vincent Janssen netted his first goal of the night on the 54th minute to reduce VVV’s lead to one goal, although Mevlin Platje had other ideas and he restored the home sides two goal cusin on the 60th minute. Almere scored late into added time as Janssen scored his second of the night but the match finished 3-2 to VVV.

FC Den Bosch thumped Helmond Sport 3-0 thanks to goals from Erik Quekel,Jordy Thomassen and Edoardo Ceria. The night got worse for the away side when Kevin Gomez-Nieto picked up a second yellow in the closing minutes of the match. Its Ceria’s 4th goal in his last 5 appearances an impressive record as the striker continues to make a name for himself in the league.

Achilles 39 finished 2-2 at home to FC Oss, although both teams are predicted to finish at the foot of the table, it was an exciting encounter with the match producing a countless number of efforts for the two sides. FC Oss lead at the break through Fatih Kamaci but Achilles equalised on the 70th minute when Thijs Hendriks netted for the home side, Twan Smits was shown a straight red just a few minutes after his team had levelled but the 10 men scored again and Hendriks got his second of the night on the 86th minute. FC Oss fought to the end and were rewarded with an equaliser through Kevin van Veen.

Sparta Rotterdam returned to winning ways as the defeated Jong PSV 2-0, Giovanni Hiwat and Johan Voskamp scored for the Rotterdam side as they remain 5th in the table respectably.

Jens van Son and Fries Deschilder both netted for FC Eindhoven as they defeated Fortuna Sittard, the away side looked the strongest throughout the match and dissevered all three points of their travels, the match finished 0-2.

Telstar drew with Jong FC Twente on Friday evening although the home side were in the lead for the most the match thanks to a Felitciano Zschusschen goal on the 28th minute, Jong FC Twente found an equaliser on the 72nd minute through Tarik Tissoudali and the match finished all square at 1-1.

Vlatko Lazic penalty in the 86th minute separated De Graafschap from MVV Maastricht, the match was a poor spectacle throughout but the away side snatched a victory in the closing minutes when Lazic slotted home the penalty.

Anthony Limbombe netted twice in the first half for NEC Nijmegen as his side defeated FC Emmen at home on Saturday evening, although the leagues joint top scorer Sjoerd Ards was shown a straight red early into the second half for the home side, it didn’t affect the match in the slightest as NEC doubled their lead through Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Tom Daemen. The 4-0 win for Brood’s side means they remain joint top of the league and have only conceded 4 times in their opening matches, and impressive record for the NEC defence who will face a spirited De Graafschaap side next weekend.

FC Volendam collected all three points on their journeys this weekend to face the blue and yellow of RKC Waalwijk, Volendam opened the scoring on the 17th minute through Guyon Philips, Ludcinio Marengo then scored for the away side to give them a two goal lead, RKC pulled one back on the 82nd minute when Kenny Anderson scored but the away side had the final say as Kevin Brands scored making it 1-3 to Volendam.

Hicham Faik’s goal on the 50th minute for Roda JC separated the Limburg side from Jaap Stam’s Jong Ajax side, Stams side looked dominant throughout the match but they failed to take their chances and Faik’s goal gave the limburg side a 1 goal lead in which they held onto to take the win 1-0.

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TEAM OF THE WEEK

Eredivisie Team Of The Week – Round 6

September 23, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

Welcome to week six of our Eredivisie Team of the Week which leads into our Eredivisie ‘Player of the Season’ competition. All players have performed so well this weekend that Martijn Hilhorst and Will Burns have decided they should be in our team of the week. Each player in the eleven receives one point and whichever player is declared ‘Player of the Week’, he receives an extra point.

GOALKEEPER

JASPER CILLESSEN (Ajax) – Player of the Week

DEFENDERS

RICARDO VAN RHIJN (Ajax)

SVEN VAN BEEK (Feyenoord)

TERENCE KONGOLO (Feyenoord)

SIMON POULSEN (AZ Alkmaar)

MIDFIELDERS

RYAN KOOLWIJK (FC Dordrecht)

ROBERT BRABER (Willem II)

ADAM MAHER (PSV Eindhoven)

ATTACKERS

LUCIANO NARSINGH (PSV Eindhoven)

TOMMY OAR (FC Utrecht)

LUC CASTAIGNOS (FC Twente)

Click here to see the ‘Player of the Season’ standings.

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EREDIVISIE, EREDIVISIE REPORT

EREDIVISIE: FC Utrecht 1-0 FC Groningen

September 21, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

SUNDAY 21ST SEPTEMBER 2014

FC UTRECHT 1 – 0 FC GRONINGEN

An entertaining last 30 minutes saw Ruud Boymans score for Utrecht and Tjarnon Chery miss a penalty for Groningen writes Ryan O’Grady.

In all honesty the first 60 minutes weren’t worth much of a mention. The first half looked like it was going to be entertaining when Anounar Kali had a long range effort saved in the first minute but both sides lacked a cutting edge and both were unable to create many chances either. Ed Janssen the referee didn’t help either, repeatedly giving soft free-kicks and as a result the game was very stop start, although Jarchinio Antonia of Groningen was the only player to be booked in the first half. Utrecht did have another couple of half chances, one was when Nacer Barazite brought the ball down beautifully before shifting the ball onto his left foot but the shot was very weak and easily saved. The second-half chance was when Utrecht were awarded a free-kick about halfway into Groningen’s half, the ball was put in and Chris Kum tried a reverse header but the ball came off the back his neck and went over the bar.

In the first 15 minutes of the second half almost nothing happened and if it wasn’t for Utrecht’s goal then the second half might’ve been a copy of the first. The goal came from a lofted through ball from Tommy Oar which Ruud Boymans ran onto and controlled well before putting it in between the keeper’s legs to send the home fans wild. As I have just mentioned the goal was definitely the instigator of change in terms of the pace of the game. 3 minutes later Utrecht earned a free-kick in avery dangerous position just outside the box but it was wasted by Yassin Ayoub. After this Groningen fought their way back into the game, in the 65th minute a long cross eventually fell to Antonia but he overhit his pass to Chery who was unable to control it. Only 3 minutes later however Groningen were awarded a penalty and Chery stepped up to take it but it was saved brilliantly by the keeper which seemed to take the fight out of Groningen’s fightback somewhat. Their only other chance in the game fell to Danny Hoesen but his shot was deflected into the keeper’s hands. Boymans had a late chance to double his tally and Utrecht’s lead but he put his shot just over the crossbar.

TEAMS

UTRECHT: Ruiter, Kum, Leeuwin (Heerings 73), Markiet, Van der Maarel (Cortie 83), Janssen, Kali, Ayoub, Peterson (Boymans 55), Barazite, Oar.

SUBS NOT USED: Verhoeven, Diemers, Quesada, Rubin.

GOALS: Boymans 61.

BOOKINGS: Oar 59, Van der Maarel 81.

GRONINGEN: Padt, Botteghin, Kappelhof, Van der Velden (Bos 66), Hiariej (Hateboer 85), Chery, Kieftenbeld, De Leeuw (Islamovic 76), Van Nieff, Hoesen, Antonia.

SUBS NOT USED: Van der Vlag, Hagenauw, Saban, Baas.

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: Antonia 31.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Robbin Ruiter (FC Utrecht)

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EREDIVISIE, EREDIVISIE REPORT

EREDIVISIE: Feyenoord 0-1 Ajax

September 21, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

SUNDAY 21ST SEPTEMBER 2014

FEYENOORD 0 – 1 AJAX

Ajax defeated Feyenoord by the single goal in this afternoon’s De Klassieker but they will have Jasper Cillessen and the woodwork to thank for the three points writes Will Burns.

Feyenoord head coach Fred Rutten must have wondered how his side was a goal down after just five minutes, when they could have so easily been in the lead. Jordy Clasie and Ruben Schaken had saw early chances hit the crossbar before Ricardo van Rhijn hit a 40-yard free-kick past the stranded Kenneth Vermeer to give Ajax the shock lead.

The Rotterdammers saw the woodwork prevent the equaliser as Sven van Beek rose above everyone from a Miquel Nelom cross. Minutes later, Jasper Cillessen pulled off a great save from Colin Kazim-Richards to remarkably keep the score at 1-0 to Ajax. Feyenoord were in full control of everything but the scoreline.

The chances were flowing for the hosts but none were easier than Colin Kazim-Richards just before the interval. After a whipping ball into the area from Jens Toornstra, the Turkish international did wonderful to control in the area and wrong-foot marker Niclas Moisander. However, the striker’s finished was a meagre effort as he dragged his shot wide from just yards out. The fans behind the goal in De Kuip all stood with their hands on their head.

The teams went into half-time with the Rotterdammers being far the better side but a goal down and the second-half was more of the same.

The Amsterdammers could truly thank Cillessen for the three points today as the Dutch international was quiet literally pulling out all the stops. After opposite number, Kenneth Vermeer showed a strong hand to deny Kolbeinn Sigthórsson at the other end, Cillessen stopped a great header from Jean-Paul Boëtius from a Luke Wilkshire free-kick.

As Feyenoord pressed, it looked likely that Rutten’s men would at least secure a point, especially when excellent work from Elvis Manu provided Mitchell te Vrede an excellent opportunity to equalise with five minutes remaining. The young striker had time to set himself up perfectly at the back post but his shot somehow stayed out via Van Rhijn and then Cillessen.

The striker grew more and more frustrated as did the raucous fans inside De Kuip when Te Vrede saw his late header tipped over the bar by the outstanding Cillessen.

Despite a massive 16 attempts on goal for the Rotterdammers, Ajax held on to win their fifth consecutive victory over their bitter rivals, which adds more pressure on Feyenoord boss Fred Rutten.

TEAMS

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EREDIVISIE, EREDIVISIE REPORT

EREDIVISIE: Heracles 1-4 FC Twente

September 21, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

SUNDAY 21ST SEPTEMBER 2014

HERACLES 1 – 4 FC TWENTE

FC Twente put in a convincing away performance to defeat bottom side Heracles, who started well, but faded, with a two minute period at the end of the second half killing the contest writes Jake Jackman.

In the opening exchanges, neither side could fashion a real clear cut chance, despite the positive intent from Heracles against a strong FC Twente side. The away side started with lots of attacking talent with the likes of Luc Castaignos, Ryo Miyaichi and Hakim Ziyech, all who can cause significant damage to opposition sides.

The first came after Ziyech played a nice forward pass to Kyle Ebecilio, who had space in the final third, but he could only fire his shot off target. Twente continued to push for the opening goal, but exceptional defending from the home side saw three promising positions from Twente prevented, with some brilliant last ditch defending. The home side then went straight up the other end, with Thomas Bruns playing a nice ball to Wout Weghorst in space, who duly went on the slot the ball past Nick Marsman.

It wasn’t long until the away side equalised, after a block fell kindly for Luc Castaignos, who finished well, a forward of his quality was never going to let a chance like that pass. Although he has always had a big reputation as a player, who had good potential, Ryo Miyaichi was continuing to waste good positions. The home side failed to retake the lead, after Rasmus Bengtsson mis-kicked, allowing Bryan Linssen to find Oussama Tannane, who fired wide from a great position.

As Heracles were preparing to go into half time level, Luc Castaignos scored his second of the afternoon as he headed home from a decent cross provided by Jesus Manuel Corona.

If this wasn’t bad enough for the home side, Twente scored again just moments later through a brilliant finish from Hakim Ziyech as Twente really started to make their quality count. It was perhaps harsh on Heracles, who played well in the first half, but it was certainly Twente who had the better chances and they made those count.

The second half started the same way as the first with very few clear cut chances as Twente looked happy to hold on to what they already had. Bryan Linssen had the first clear cut chance but his shot missed the target. Heracles were doing all of the running and the ball fell kindly for Simon Cziommer who fried straight at Nick Marsman. Despite the pressing from the home side, Twente quickly added a fourth as substitute Youness Mokhtar finished smartly after some good approach play. Iliass Bel Hassani had a late chance, but it would have counted for nothing anyway.

This was certainly a clinical performance from FC Twente and it has shown them as a dangerous side, who will cause a lot of problems this season. Their attack is very potent and they have the ability to finish in the higher positions, especially if Luc Castaignos keeps up the form he showed today. Heracles continued their disastrous start, and they still sit bottom with 0 points. They started well today, but look very vulnerable at the back, they are set to face a serious relegation fight, unless things improve.

TEAMS

HERACLES: Telgenkamp, Schenkeveld (Koenders 53), Veldmate, Engberink, Te Wierik, Bruns (Bel Hassani 68), Pelupessy, Fledderus (Cziommer 46), Linssen, Weghorst, Tannane.

SUBS NOT USED: Navratil, Sibum, Paljic, Fij.

GOALS: Weghorst 16.

BOOKINGS: None.

TWENTE: Marsman, Martina, Bjelland, Schilder, Bengtsson (Breukers 73), Ebecilio, Ziyech (Eghan 80), Mokotjo, Corona, Miyaichi (Mokhtar 68), Castaignos.

SUBS NOT USED: Stevens, Lachman, Koppers, Børven.

GOALS: Castaignos 24 & 33, Ziyech 44, Mokhtar 74.

BOOKINGS: None.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Jesús Manuel Corona (FC Twente)

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FEATURE

Louis van Gaal: When will it all go right at Man Utd?

September 21, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

It’s the 13th of July, and The Netherlands have just brushed aside the hosts to secure third place at the 2014 World Cup. Yes, a team largely unfancied before the tournament to progress past the group stages, and was called the weakest Dutch side ever to go to a World Cup, had managed to finish third. How had this happened? Well yes, it was largely due to the individual brilliance of Arjen Robben, but let’s not kid ourselves, the main man behind the success was Louis Van Gaal writes Fin Crebolder.

Throughout the tournament he showed tactical flexibility to adapt to all problems he faced, from crushing the reigning World and European Champions in the opening game by playing a very non-Dutch 5-3-2, to changing his goalkeeper purely for a penalty shoot-out. These bold decisions of course paid off and increased his popularity and credibility throughout football. He had also recently been confirmed as the new Manchester United manager, and the United fans couldn’t wait for him to start, they were confident he would bring back the glory days that had disappeared for the previous season.

Fast forward just over two months, and Van Gaal has not had an ideal start. Despite a 4-0 win against QPR, he has still had a worse start to the season than his predecessor, David Moyes. His first four games were all unimpressive. A shock 2-1 defeat against Swansea at Old Trafford, followed by uninspiring draws against Sunderland and Burnley, and a humiliating 4-0 defeat to MK Dons, raised many questions about Van Gaal’s credentials for the job. However, it’s easy to forgot that for the first three Premier League games of the season Van Gaal was not able to pick his favoured team, due to injuries and the lack of signings.

The fact that in the first game where he had all his first team players signed and available, his team managed to dismantle QPR with ease is enough to give Man United some hope, and Van Gaal, as he’s admitted himself, has always struggled to get off to good starts wherever he has managed, due to his unique style and philosophy, which players can often take time to get used to. However, at all of these clubs, despite poor starts, he has always ended up delivering, and if he manages to keep his players fit and happy, then Man United should be back in the Champions League by May, and maybe, just maybe, this time next year, the giants of football will be fearing “The Gaalacticos”.

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EREDIVISIE, EREDIVISIE REPORT

EREDIVISIE: Vitesse 1-1 Heerenveen

September 21, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

SATURDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER 2014

VITESSE 1-1 HEERENVEEN

Heerenveen held Vitesse to a great 1-1 draw on Saturday evening however, they could have left Arnhem with more writes Will Burns.

The hosts started the better of the two sides with Davy Pröpper, Marko Vejinovic and Zakaria Labyad forcing early stops from Kristoffer Nordfeldt, however all efforts from long range.

After some great awareness from Morten Thorsby, Mark Uth grabbed the first goal of the game on 22 minutes in empathic fashion. Thorsby held the ball up, while Uth sneaked behind him down the left side of the area. The German striker then smashed a first time shot into the roof of the net at Piet Velthuizen’s near post to shock the home fans.

De Superfriezen were not in the lead for long after Davy Pröpper scored the equaliser after the ball was carried forward by Denys Olinyk. The ball fell perfectly at the edge of the area for Pröpper to side foot home.

Heerenveen looked more likely to take all three points with Velthuizen keeping the Arnhem side in the game while the Gelredome crowd became restless.

Peter Bosz’s Vitesse sit second bottom with just five points so far with their season is still to yet get going, Heerenveen sit in fourth claiming 11 points in the first six games so far.

TEAMS

VITESSE: Velthuizen, Wallace, Van der Heijden, Kruiswijk, Achenteh, Vejinovic, Pröpper, Leerdam, Labyad (Ibarra 46), Dauda (Qazaishvili 71), Olinyk (Traoré 76).

SUBS NOT USED: Room, Mori, McEachran, Diks.

GOALS: Pröpper 29.

BOOKINGS: Vejinovic 45, Pröpper 88, Wallace 90+1.

HEERENVEEN: Nordfeldt, Marzo, Buijs, Van Aken, Van Anholt, De Roon, Sinkgraven, Van den Berg, Slagveer (Schmidt 89), Uth (Dalgaard 81), Thorsby (Van Amersfoort 66).

SUBS NOT USED: De Fockert, Raitala, Otigba, Varga.

GOALS: Uth 23.

BOOKINGS: Van den Berg 45, Uth 70, van Aken 86, De Room 90+4.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Davy Pröpper (Vitesse)

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EREDIVISIE, EREDIVISIE REPORT

EREDIVISIE: ADO Den Haag 1-1 Go Ahead Eagles

September 21, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

SATURDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER 2014

ADO DEN HAAG 1 – 1 GO AHEAD EAGLES

ADO coach Henk Fraser was left fuming after seeing his side miss many chances to scrape a 1-1 draw at home to Go Ahead Eagles on Saturday writes Will Burns.

ADO started the brighter of the two sides with midfielder Kevin Jansen slotting the ball home after just six minutes but was deemed offside by the referee’s assistant.

It was a quiet first half and young substitute Teije ten Den arrived on the pitch for Jules Reimerink just before the hour mark for the Eagles of Deventer and got involved straight away. On the hour we saw the first goal when summer signing Timothy Derijck, from PSV Eindhoven, headed into his own net under pressure from Ten Den.

The hosts surged on for the equaliser and Go Ahead called upon Eric Cummins to save them many times over but with five minutes remaining the score was level. The big keeper rushed out to claim a cross but Michiel Kramer was unmarked to poke home after the ball crashed off the crossbar.

After the game, ADO coach Fraser stated he expected to win this game and expects much better from his side next weekend at home to AZ Alkmaar.

TEAMS

ADO: Hansen, Zuiverloon, Derijck, Kanon, Meijers, Malone (Alberg 23), Kristensen, Jansen (Bakker 75), Schet (Houtkoop 62), Kramer, Van Duinen.

SUBS NOT USED: Zwinkels, Ebuehi, Owobowale, Merencia.

GOALS: Kramer 84.

BOOKINGS: Kanon 81.

GO AHEAD: Cummins, Nieuwpoort, Schenk, Van der Linden, Wijnaldum, Van Ooijen (Lambooij 63), Overgoor, Duits (De Bondt 79), Rijsdijk, Lewis, Reimerink (Ten Den 57).

SUBS NOT USED: Van der Hart, Amevor, Van der Meer, Postma.

GOALS: Derijck 60OG.

BOOKINGS: Duits 27.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Thomas Kristensen (ADO)

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EREDIVISIE, EREDIVISIE REPORT

EREDIVISIE: Excelsior 1-1 FC Dordrecht

September 21, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

SATURDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER 2014

EXCELSIOR 1 – 1 FC DORDRECHT

Excelsior and Dordrecht ended the game level on Saturday evening in a 1-1 draw, however it was a poor night for the visitors losing captain Funso Ojo to injury with Giovanni Korte also hurt that will keep the striker out for some time writes Will Burns.

After Tom van Weert saw an effort hit the woodwork on 12 minutes, the opening 45 did not provide much action expect for aforementioned injuries. Belgian midfielder Funso Ojo was substituted for new signing Ryan Koolwijk for the visitors on 41 minutes with a calf strain while striker Giovanni Korte was taken off with a suspected broken leg.

Shortly after the restart, Excelsior midfielder Adil Auassar scored a goal of the week contender. The 27-year old, who was born and started his career at Dordrecht, cut inside from the right to curl a perfect shot past the helpless Filip Kurto.

The Rotterdam side held on until five minutes to go when the visitors grabbed the all important equaliser with 20-year old German midfielder Robin Gosens nodding home the levelling goal past Excelsior’s debutant goalkeeper Gino Coutinho.

The hosts went down to ten-men when summer signing Luigi Bruins was shown a straight red from referee Pieter Vink after clashing with Marvin Peersman. Replays showed that the sending off was harsh as Peersman went down easy after Bruins lead in with his head with minimal contact.

TEAMS

EXCELSIOR: Coutinho, Karami, Fischer, Van Diermen, Kuipers, Kruys (Mattheij 73), Stans (Bruins 68), Auassar, Botaka, Van Weert (Gouriye 68), Van Mieghem

SUBS NOT USED: None.

GOALS: Auassar 51.

BOOKINGS: None.

SENT OFF: Bruins 88.

DORDRECHT: Kurto, Fortes, Lima, Troost-Ekong, Peersman, Ojo (Koolwijk 41), Gosens, Van Overeem, Korte (Pisas 47), Lieder (Hamdaoui 80), Ten Voorde.

SUBS NOT USED: None.

GOALS: Gosens 85.

BOOKINGS: None.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Adil Auassar (Excelsior)

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EREDIVISIE, EREDIVISIE REPORT

EREDIVISIE: Willem II 2-1 NAC Breda

September 20, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

FRIDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER 2014

WILLEM II 2 – 1 NAC BREDA

Willem II clinched a late 2-1 win over NAC Breda on Friday night through a 91st minutes Robert Braber winner writes Will Burns.

Former Chelsea youth striker Ben Sahar put the hosts ahead after beating the offside trap collecting Stijn Wuytens through ball to nutmeg NAC keeper Jelle ten Rouwelaar early on.

After claiming victories in their last two games, NAC grabbed an equaliser three minutes before the interval when Uros Matic hit a low drive past Kostas Lamprou from 25 yards.

The hosts pressed for a winner but it looked likely that they would have to settle for a point however, Robert Braber provided the late drama to lift Jurgen Streppel’s men into the top half of the division. Braber, a summer signing from relegated RKC Waalwijk, finished well after great hold up play from substitute Bruno Andrade.

TEAMS

WILLEM II: Lamprou, Van der Struijk, D. Wuytens, Peters, Dijks (Heymans 72), Haemhouts, Braber, S. Wuytens, Cabral (Vicento 84), Sahar, Armenteros (Bruno Andrade 69).

SUBS NOT USED: Meul, Heerkens, Messaoud, De Brito, Ippel.

GOALS: Sahar 13, Braber 90+1.

BOOKINGS: None.

NAC: Ten Rouwelaar, Ssewankambo, Drost, Damcevski, Amieux, Falkenburg, De Kamps, Matic, Boateng (Sarpong 80), Perica, Tighadouini (Seuntjens 73).

SUBS NOT USED: Babos, De Roover, Suk, Robinson, Van der Weg.

GOALS: Matic 42.

BOOKINGS: De Kamps 77, Ten Rouwelaar 90+2, Perica 90+5.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Uros Matic (NAC Breda)

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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, CHAMPIONS LEAGUE REPORT

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Ajax 1 – 1 Paris Saint-Germain

September 17, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

WEDNESDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER 2014

AJAX 1 – 1 PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN

Ajax clinched a fantastic point with a 74th minute Lasse Schöne trademark free-kick that denied Paris Saint-Germain all three points in the opening group game of the Champions League writes Will Burns.

The money men from France took the lead after just 15 minutes when Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani slotted into the open goal on the rebound from former Ajax legend Zlatan Ibrahimović’s blocked effort. The chance came about after an horrific error from Ajax left-back Nicolai Boilesen. The young Dane had conceded possession to Brazilian playmaker Lucas Moura by stumbling when attempting to clear a searching ball down the right.

Laurent Blanc’s side continued to apply pressure on Jasper Cillessen’s goal, but were unable to create any further opportunities as Frank de Boer’s defence performed with sturdiness to go in at half-time just the one goal down.

Ajax almost found a breach in their goal nearly straight after the restart when Finnish defender Niklas Moisander squandered the ball, only for Lucas to fire wide with only Cillessen to beat. The hosts came close to capitalising on Lucas’ recklessness minutes later when substitute Niki Zimling saw his shot skim over the crossbar from long range.

However, Lucas continued to be at the head of PSG’s attack and would have found a deserved goal if not for Cillessen, who produced a terrific save to tip the Brazil international’s effort round the post after he had been played through by a excellent ball from Ibrahimović.

Ajax only threatened from outside the area with not one of their 11 attempts on goal were taken from inside the box but PSG’s lack of composure up front was punished on 74 minutes when the Amsterdammers found the all important equaliser.

Danish midfielder Lasse Schöne curled a perfect free-kick beyond the helpless Salvatore Sirigu, who despite getting a hand to the shot, could not keep the ball from heading into the net and exploding the Amsterdam ArenA crowd to their feet.

Ajax smelt blood and Schöne then almost completed an unlikely turnaround just minutes later with a low drive from a set-piece that forced Sirigu push the ball onto the post. PSG also nearly claimed the winner but Ajax held on for a draw that should give them hope of progression from the gorup that also contains FC Barcelona and APOEL Nicosia. Schöne’s goal ensured that Ajax stay undefeated in the last four Champions League matches, the Amsterdammers best run since October 2005 to February 2006.

TEAMS

AJAX: Cillessen, Van Rhijn, Veltman, Moisander, Boilesen, Klaassen, Viergever (Zimling 46), Serero, Schöne (Milik 82), Sigthórsson (El Ghazi 61), Andersen.

SUBS NOT USED: Boer, Van der Hoorn, Denswil, Duarte.

GOALS: Schöne 74.

BOOKINGS: Klaassen 30, Veltman 56, El Ghazi 68, Serero 69.

PSG: Sirigu, Van der Wiel, David Luiz, Marquinhos, Maxwell, Motta, Verratti (Pastore 81), Matuidi, Lucas Moura (Lavezzi 81), Cavani, Ibrahimović.

SUBS NOT USED: Douchez, Digne, Cabaye, Camara, Bahebeck.

GOALS: Cavani 14.

BOOKINGS: Marquinhos 72.

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FEATURE

The Chammmmppppiooonnnsss!

September 17, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

Total Dutch Football columnist Jos Boesveld discusses why he is looking forward to the Champions League group stages…

I’m one of the millions that are happy men tonight. A new adventure has begun. A competition, so fierce and exciting, that we all make time so see as many matches as we can watch. I’m talking, of course, about the UEFA Champions League.

And what a start on Tuesday! Real Madrid overpowering FC Basel with their counter attacks, Borussia Dortmund, with all their pace, destroying Arsenal and as always, some surprises. Like Ibrahim Afellay, five years ago one of the biggest talents in the Netherlands, but after his move to Spain, he only made it to a little over fifty matches in four years. Now he was important for his new club, Olympiakos against Atlético Madrid. With a goal and an assist, Afellay is back on the map.

As the last couple of years, Ajax is also participating in the Champions League. You can say that Ajax is also back on the map in Europe, but just for a while. The media write about Ajax now but after they have been defeated in this group with strong teams, the name Ajax will die a slow death. It’s a tough draw again for Ajax, starting against Paris Saint-Germain and playing against Barcelona and APOEL Nicosia as well. The French came to Amsterdam on Wednesday and a pretty funny and typical thing happened on the press conference before the match.

A French journalist travelled to Amsterdam to ask Frank de Boer a few questions and next to him sat captain Niklas Moisander. Because the question was asked in French, a translator rephrased the question in Dutch. It was something like this. “You’ve told us that you think Paris Saint-Germain can win the Champions League with the current squad. But what about Ajax? Can they do what they did about twenty years ago?”

I still don’t know if the journalist was trying to be funny, or was dead serious, but he got some good laughs after his question. De Boer answered polity, but told the Frenchman that Ajax sees the survival of the group stage as their target and it would be a victory if they make it through to the next round.

A lot has changed in football since 1995, when Ajax won their last Champions League. Before that year, Paris Saint-Germain only won five prices, containing two league titles and three victories in the French cup. Hell, Paris Saint-Germain existed for three years when Ajax won their third Champions League (in a row) in 1973.

Now Ajax is afraid of Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Money won over history, but football is still football. I’m looking forward to the game in the Amsterdam ArenA. Every result in favour of Ajax, being a draw or a win, is a bonus against this team. Times are changing, but there’s always the element of surprise. Surprise me Ajax, surprise me Champions League.