NOS Voetbal•vandaag, 22:54
View the summary of Ajax – AS Roma (v) here
The women of Ajax have delivered a very good performance in the Champions League. With a 2-1 victory over AS Roma, the Amsterdam team survived the ‘group of death’ and qualified for the quarter-finals of the tournament.
This makes Ajax the first Dutch club to get this far in the Champions League.
Prior to the tournament, few football experts had taken into account the success of the Amsterdam women in the group with top teams Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and AS Roma. Getting a point would be good enough. But that sentiment changed when coach Suzanne Bakker’s team managed to beat the French and German teams at home.
AS Roma starts strong
Ajax was able to qualify for the quarter-finals with another home win, but actually had a hard time with the Italian team from the start. Although Bakker’s team tried to gamble on the speed of striker Romee Leuchter, it was mainly AS Roma that had the opportunities.
View the reactions of the Ajax women here after the match against AS Roma:
After almost fifteen minutes of play, Ajax goalkeeper Regina van Eijk had to take action for the first time. Evelyne Viens just walked past everyone and was able to lash out. She did that in the hands of the goalkeeper. Then it was Elisa Bartoli who had a good header opportunity from a corner, but again it was Van Eijk who made the save.
Little Bartoli scores
But three times was a charm for the Italian women. Ajax didn’t really seem to have learned from the earlier moment with the only 1.60 meter tall Bartoli. A free kick from Manuela Giugliano landed perfectly on the head of the completely detached defender, who now headed home via the post: 0-1.
Watch Bartoli’s goal here:
Problems for Ajax: Bartoli heads AS Roma 1-0 in Johan Cruijff Arena
Defending Bartoli remained a major problem: just before half time she was able to double the lead for the Italian women. Another header hit the crossbar.
But under the watchful eye of national coach Andries Jonker and director of top football of the KNVB, Nigel de Jong, Ajax recovered before half time. The first real chance for the home team immediately resulted in a goal. Lily Yohannes intercepted the ball in midfield and passed it to Tiny Hoekstra, who found the far corner: 1-1.
Watch Hoekstra’s goal here:
Ajax comes back into the match: Hoekstra scores 1-1
With this, Ajax went into the dressing room with a good feeling, but because Bayern Munich was 1-0 ahead against PSG at that moment, the team also knew that there was still work to be done. To keep things in our own hands, at least one more goal from Ajax was necessary.
But it was AS Roma that came closest to scoring. Viens tried with a backheel, but saw the ball just roll past. Much to the relief of the Amsterdam fans in the stadium.
And when PSG equalized in Germany, there was even more relief in Amsterdam. With that score, Ajax was through to the quarter-finals again. However, the cheerfulness quickly disappeared when Bayern made it 2-1 soon afterwards.
Still enormous joy in Amsterdam
Because Ajax gave everything one more time in the final phase, there was still a great chance to make it 2-1. Grant only missed seeing Camelia Ceasar face to face. There was still a corner kick left and it caused enormous joy. Spitse kicked the ball towards the Roma goal and Zara Kramzar headed the ball into her own goal.
Watch Kramzar’s own goal here:
Great joy in Amsterdam, with the 2-1 the quarter finals beckon
Five minutes of extra time could not change the party in the Arena at all. As a result, Ajax’s Champions League dream will continue for a while. Paris Saint Germain and Bayern were stuck at 2-2, meaning the French will go with Ajax to the knockout phase.
2024-01-30 21:54:04
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