VVV-Venlo -Ajax

VVV-Venlo failed to a cause a sensation in the home game against Ajax. Despite a good performance by Jan van Dijk’s men, the final score was a decisive 0-4, with all four goals being scored by Luis Suarez. This defeat signals the end of VVV-Venlo’s unbeaten run of games at home. As well as losing the match, the club also lost keeper Dennis Gentenaar with an apparently serious knee injury.

 

The ball had barely started rolling in Seacon Stadion – De Koel – before the massive crowd of Ajax supporters could celebrate the first goal. Ajax took the lead after three minutes with Luis Suarez scoring from Dario Cvitanich’s assist. The Uruguayan player headed the ball past his former team mate Dennis Gentenaar: 0-1.  The home crowd watched with bated breath, hoping that VVV-Venlo wouldn’t be completely outplayed by the visitors.

 

VVV-Venlo came back strongly. Ken Leemans had two good chances on the edge of the penalty area. After eight minutes his shot narrowly missed the goal mouth and eleven minutes later, helped by good action from Keisuke Honda, he saw another shot sail wide. In the other half there was a collective sigh of relief when a ball from Luis Suarez missed the goal by just a few centimetres. The best chances in the first half were for VVV-Venlo. Frank van Kouwen beat the Amsterdam defenders to find Ruben Schaken, but his shot was saved by national keeper Maarten Stekelenburg. Just before half time both teams were awarded a free kick, but neither attempt brought the desired result.

 

VVV-Venlo started strongly in the second half, by dictating the pace of the game with good ball possession. The home team had one good opportunity with a finely staged attack on the left flank. Niels Fleuren passed to Honda who sent the ball to Achmed Ahahaoui, but his shot ended up in the wrong side of the net. Ajax then launched a merciless onslaught on VVV-Venlo. The first chance they had was powered past Gentenaar by no one less than Luis Suarez: 0-2.

 

After another two minutes the scoreboard read 0-3. It was once again Suarez whose incredibly fast paced play left the Venlo defence powerless to react. This attack sealed the points for Ajax. In the closing minute a well executed counter via Dennis Rommedahl to Suarez brought the score to 0-4. Even worse than this disappointing defeat was the injury suffered by Dennis Gentenaar. The former Ajax keeper was forced to leave the pitch with a knee injury. Kevin Begois took his place in the goal.

 

The 0-4 defeat wipes out VVV-Venlo’s unbeaten run. The home team was able to cope with Ajax for a great deal of the game, but Suarez’s form was of a totally different league. He celebrated his 100th premier league appearance with four goals.

 

Despite losing, trainer Jan van Dijk was a satisfied man after the match. „ Ajax is a fantastic opponent. We were up against a giant and we performed well. We used different tactics and we’re proud and happy that they worked until the 65th minute. I was waiting for us to equalise. Once the score was 0-2 you start taking more risks and before you know it the final score was a 0-4 defeat that flattered our team. We worked hard and that should be seen as a compliment for VVV-Venlo.”

 

Next week sees an away fixture against FC Twente.

 

 

Sunday 20 September 2009

 

VVV-VENLO – AJAX 0-4

3. Luis Suarez 0-1, 68. Luis Suarez 0-2, 70. Luis Suarez 0-3, 90. Luis Suarez 0-4. Match official: Bossen. Crowd attendance: 7500. Yellow cards: Frank van Kouwen (VVV-Venlo), Vurnon Anita and Maarten Stekelenburg ( Ajax).

 

Squad VVV-Venlo:

Dennis Gentenaar (76. Kevin Begois); Michael Timisela, Adil Auassar, Patrick Paauwe, Niels Fleuren; Ruben Schaken, Frank van Kouwen (72. Kevin van Dessel), Ken Leemans, Achmed Ahahaoui (82. Soufiane Dadda); Keisuke Honda and Sandro Calabro.

 

Squad Ajax:

Maarten Stekelenburg; Gregory van der Wiel, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Urby Emauelson; Demy de Zeeuw, Vurnon Anita (76. Mitchell Donald), Ismail Aissati; Kennedy Bakircioglu (67. Dennis Rommedahl), Dario Cvitanich (54. Miralem Sulejmani) and Luis Suarez.