Ron Jans and Robin Pröpper are not happy with the way Ajax tried to defend a 0-1 lead against FC Twente on Sunday. The team from Amsterdam took the necessary time in the second half, but could not prevent a loss of points: Ajax and FC Twente drew 1-1 in De Grolsch Veste, through goals from Sébastien Haller and Robin Pröpper.
With a 0-1 lead, Ajax took plenty of time for throw-ins and goal kicks. Maarten Stekelenburg, Daley Blind and Noussair Mazraoui in particular were guilty of wasting time. Four minutes before the end, FC Twente equalized via Pröpper, after which referee Dennis Higler added five minutes to injury time, presumably due to the time stretch. Ajax then looked for the winning goal in injury time, but that did not come.
Jans sees ‘problem’ at Twente: ‘Now we have to show this weekly’
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At the press conference afterwards, Pröpper reacts to the decision to grant five minutes of injury time. That decision was “the only thing he didn’t quite understand.” “Where did they come from? After Ajax’s time draw, the 1-1 follows. Then I don’t think that five minutes need to be added, but that was the only thing. The arbitration was fine for the rest.” Jans even proposes a new rule of the game: “It would be a nice rule change: if you stretch time yourself, that time will not be added later, if you need it again later.”
Jans found the arbitration ‘excellent, except for a few moments’. He saw a few tackles from Ajax that in his eyes could have resulted in a ‘ticket’. “It was about two tackles from Ajax. He let football continue, but I think Dennis Higler is one of the better referees anyway.” Jans does not indicate which tackles he is referring to. Davy Klaassen and Edson Álvarez escaped a red card in the first half. The latter was booked for a punch to the face of Giovanni Troupée, while a tap by Álvarez to the back of the head of Michal Sadílek went unpunished. However, Jans indicates that he did not see the slap at Sadílek.
“A fighting match”, that is how Jans describes the game on Sunday afternoon. “We said in the dressing room: we now have a real problem, because we now have to offer this every week, not just against Ajax. We have to put high pressure or deep defend and counter. Based on that, and based on the chances “I think it’s a fair draw. I really appreciate the intensity, struggle, passion and mental toughness. That’s been the foundation of this point. It almost feels like a win.”
Kalum of Oudheusden is a full-time video journalist, presenter and program maker at Voetbalzone and makes exclusive interviews and various programs.