In the first half, Ajax did create a number of opportunities in Deventer. Brian Brobbey in particular threatened Jeffrey de Lange's goal a few times. Mohammed Kudus also saw an on-target header disallowed. Ajax looked better than Go Ahead Eagles, but could not make the difference in front of goal.
In the second half, the chances could be counted on one hand. Davy Klaassen tried once from outside the box, but shot a little too much in the middle of the goal. This allowed the home team's goalie to make a relatively easy save. Jurriën Timber also hoped to force the opening goal from a corner. However, his header lacked power.
Ajax thus comes out of the international period with only moderate success. Several Ajax players flew out to represent their national team last week.
Coach's reaction
Coach John Heitinga was not amused after the game. "In the first half, we still created some very good chances. The fact that their goalkeeper became man of the match says a lot. But in the second half, we created too little. The end result is simply disappointing: 0-0."
"I still tried to take the three points with Steven Bergwijn and Lorenzo Lucca. Go Ahead Eagles defended that well, but we just didn't do this well enough either. Looking at the programme and today's points loss, first place is going to be tough. We will put the focus back directly on Wednesday's cup game on Monday, though."
Go Ahead Eagles - Ajax 0-0 (0-0)
Ajax: Rulli; Sánchez (87. Lucca), Timber, Álvarez, Baas (69. Wijndal), Berghuis (80. Conceição), Taylor, Klaassen, Kudus, Brobbey (69. Bergwijn), Tadic
