Bergwijn was sidelined for more than five weeks. He played for more than half an hour in Rotterdam. Ajax came back from a 2-0 deficit against Sparta. Arno Verschueren scored twice for the home team. Substitute Chuba Akpom scored Ajax’s first goal (2-1).
Ajax came back from a 2-0 deficit, after two goals from Arno Verschueren. The record champion remains number 5 in the Eredivisie, with a 2-point lead over NEC. Ajax saw Brian Brobbey drop out in the final phase with a hamstring injury. The chance seems small that he will be able to play for the Dutch team in the friendly matches against Scotland and Germany. Ahmetcan Kaplan received a red card in injury time for a foul on Charles-Andreas Brym.
Alex Kroes, the new director of Ajax, once again confirmed on his third working day that it will not be easy to quickly make the record champion of the Netherlands successful again. The team from Amsterdam have already conceded more goals (72) in various competitions than ever in a season. Ajax will play eight more competition matches this season and may still have to participate in the play-offs for European football.
If you don’t have five defenders, you can’t set up like that. That’s what coach John van ‘t Schip must have thought when he was putting together his basic formation for the away match against Sparta. He opted for a system with four defenders and dropped midfielders Jordan Henderson and Kenneth Taylor one line back.
The match at Het Kasteel also came too early for Steven Berghuis. After eight substitute appearances, 18-year-old Mika Godts was allowed to kick off for Ajax in the Eredivisie for the first time. The 18-year-old left winger from Belgium has recovered from a thigh injury that kept him sidelined for three months.
The creative Godts made a good impression, with a series of dribbles and crosses. He gave Brobbey a nice opportunity. But Ajax’s top scorer missed, just like in the opening phase when he headed wide from a promising position. Sparta gave most of the ball possession to Ajax, but took the lead in the 28th minute. Verschueren defeated Kaplan and left Diant Ramaj without a chance. The Belgian scored again in the opening phase of the second half, but saw that his team was then pushed back so far that it could no longer defend its lead.
Ajax remains number 5 in the Eredivisie, with a 2-point lead over NEC. The club has already conceded a record number of 72 goals in all competitions this season. The Amsterdam team will play eight more times in the Eredivisie and may also have to participate in the play-offs for European football.
Trainer Van ‘t Schip does not see battered Ajax giving up
Trainer John van ‘t Schip wanted to compliment his Ajax players after the draw. “When you see where they come from, it’s amazing how they came back here,” he said.
“Godts was our most dangerous man in the first half,” said Van ‘t Schip. “And Bergwijn is back too. We now have to wait and see what is wrong with Brian Brobbey. Does he have a hamstring injury or was it a cramp?”
“It’s a shame how we are 2-0 behind again,” said Van ‘t Schip, who saw his team lose without a chance to Aston Villa (4-0) on Thursday. “But my players have shown character.”