Ajax defeat Excelsior in Heitinga’s debut
John Heitinga’s first game in charge of Ajax saw the Amsterdammers defeat Excelsior 4-1 in Rotterdam. It has been a bad week for Ajax, who sacked Alfred Schreuder straight after the poor 1-1 draw over Volendam in midweek. Heitinga was put in temporar
John Heitinga’s first game in charge of Ajax saw the Amsterdammers defeat Excelsior 4-1 in Rotterdam.
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It has been a bad week for Ajax, who sacked Alfred Schreuder straight after the poor 1-1 draw over Volendam in midweek. Heitinga was put in temporary charge of Ajax and he immediately made changes. Calvin Bassey was dropped and Owen Wijndal started. Dusan Tadic was preferred over Brian Brobbey as the striker.
The first big chance came for Excelsior but Redouan El Yaakoubi fired over the bar. In the fifteenth minute, a clumsy foul by Sven Nieuwpoort led to a penalty and Tadic fired Ajax in front.
After the goal, Ajax looked defensively vulnerable and Gerónimo Rulli had to rescue his side on a few occasions. However, the equaliser did come in the 36th minute as El Yaakoubi headed in a cross.
Heitinga looked furious but his side took a lead into the break with Tadic holding the ball up well before he managed to set up Davy Klaassen, who made no mistake with his finish.
Rulli kept Ajax in front in the early stages of the second half before Mohammed Kudus made it 3-1 with a strike from distance on the hour mark. Devyne Rensch then sealed the win with a wonderful curled finish before the end.
Ajax ends their winless run of seven games in the league and they are now fourth in the table. Excelsior is in 14th.
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