As expected, NAC leaves the ball to Ajax in the opening phase. Except for one moment by Brobbey, Ajax did not pose any danger. After 25 minutes of play, NAC comes out of its shell a bit and even gets a good chance to open the score itself. After a sling shot by Jan van Den Bergh, it is Elías Már Ómarsson who tries to outwit Pasveer with an overhead kick. He does not hit the ball as hoped, but it does end up with Garbett. The New Zealander takes a swing, but shoots the ball into the side netting.
Furthermore, NAC keeps it tight at the back in the first half. Shortly after the break, Jan van den Bergh seems to shoot NAC into the lead, but this is cancelled due to offside.
Ten minutes later, the Rat Verlegh Stadium is still shaking on its foundations. Matthew Garbett is at the end of a brilliant attack by NAC and makes it 1-0!
NAC can’t enjoy the lead for long. From a corner by Steven Berghuis, Jorrel Hato heads the ball into the corner: 1-1. Even after the goal, the game remains the same. Ajax has the ball and NAC lurks on the counter.
NAC seizes all dead ball moments to become dangerous. Janošek cheers up the crowd and swings the ball in. Via a detour with Raul Paula, the ball ends up in the penalty area. Kostorz and later Jan van den Bergh come close, but do not manage to score.
NAC is solid as a house and gets its rewards. In the 8(!) minutes of injury time, NAC manages to beat Ajax. Jan van den Bergh heads a free kick from debutant Raul Paula into the net: 2-1!
Ajax is no longer dangerous and NAC wins from the record champion of the Netherlands. A top performance by Carl Hoefkens’ team. NAC is back and everyone should know. Next week the first real Avondje NAC is on the program. Then FC Utrecht will visit the Rat Verlegh Stadium. There are still a few tickets available for this match via NACtickets.nl.
