NOS Football•yesterday, 10:52 PM
View the summary of Ajax – Chelsea here
The European adventure of the Ajax football players has, as expected, come to an end in London. After last week’s 3-0 defeat in their own Arena, a creditable draw was nevertheless achieved in the away match against Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the Champions League: 1-1.
Ajax surprisingly qualified for the last eight by finishing second in a group with Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and AS Roma.
There was not much honor left for Ajax to achieve in London after the not only hopeless but also heavy defeat in Amsterdam. But the team of outgoing coach Suzanne Bakker wanted to show that they had learned from the first game.
Appropriate closure
And who knows, the leader in the English competition might have secretly achieved a nice result as a fitting end to a great campaign in Europe.
While Ajax had to do without the suspended veteran Sherida Spitse a week ago, this time the Benjamin was missing for that very reason: 16-year-old talent Lily Yohannes, who received an invitation to the American team this week, was only a spectator at Stamford Bridge.
No James and Nüsken
Some changes had also been made at Chelsea, albeit completely voluntary. This is what success coach Emma Hayes, who has been in charge since 2012, said The Blueswith Lauren James and Sjoeke Nüsken, last week’s goalscorers, starting on the bench.
The first goal attempt was actually from Ajax. A header from Spitse ended up on the roof of goalkeeper Zecira Musovic, also a new name compared to a week ago. At the other end, a strike from captain Erin Cuthbert went narrowly wide.
After about fifteen minutes, Romée Leuchter cleverly turned away from Kadeisha Buchanan, who won Olympic gold with Canada in 2021, but shot wide. And moments later, Musovic, who had come out far, crashed into Tini Hoekstra, after which the ball rolled agonizingly slowly towards the empty goal. The post turned out to be good for the Swedish international.
Lively first half
Then Norwegian Guro Reiten and deep-sent Agnes Beever-Jones, one of the three English players in the Chelsea starting line-up, came close to scoring again in the lively first half.
That came in the 33rd minute, when Leuchter was unable to control a pass in his own half and Chelsea was able to take over. Reiten found Mayra Ramírez, who was acquired from Levante last winter, who passed the ball under Regina van Eijk: 1-0.
Ramirez shoots Chelsea 1-0 against Ajax in London
The next big chance turned out not to be wasted on the Colombian Champions League debutante, while Leuchter saw a beautiful curved ball that surprised Musovic, going wide.
Even after the break, Leuchter quickly got into scoring position on a pass from Chasity Grant. However, her shot was too weak to worry Musovic.
Deserved equalizer
Ajax frequently stayed in Chelsea’s half, hunting for the goal that the team was gradually getting. And that came halfway through the second act. With a tight pass through the center, Hoekstra released Grant for Musovic, who responded moderately to the slider that followed: 1-1.
Grant shoots Ajax level at Stamford Bridge
There would have been even more if Nadine Noordam had had more strength in her legs after a nice Ajax attack. Leuchter also became dangerous again, but her shot, after a clever cut, was tapped wide by Musovic.
The Swede also had to take action shortly before the end due to a fiery shot from substitute Danique Tolhoek. It was the last achievement for Ajax, which survived the group stage of the Champions League against all odds and now left the tournament with its head held high.
