Ajax lost to FC Utrecht in a closed practice match. The Domstedelingen won 1-2 at Sportpark De Toekomst thanks to goals from Luuk Brouwers and Rick Meissen. The Amsterdam goal came in the name of Lorenzo Lucca. Ajax ended the game with ten men because of a red card for Lisandro Magallán.
Ajax’s selection consisted of players who were not called up for their national team and also gave trainer Alfred Schreuder the opportunity to give players who had just returned from injury playing time. Owen Wijndal made his comeback after being absent for a few weeks and Florian Grillitsch, who was suffering from a minor injury, also returned to action. In the Amsterdam vanguard, Lorenzo Lucca and Lucas Ocampos got the chance to show themselves.
The Italian striker did that after eleven minutes, because he cleverly completed a cross from Ar’Jany Martha and opened the score on behalf of Ajax. However, the reigning national champion was unable to continue and had to wait patiently as the guests from Utrecht took control of the match. That resulted in the equalizer in the first half via Brouwers’ head and also Meissen’s 1-2, who was positioned at the far post to fumble in a free kick.
After the break, both teams had chances to score goals, but the score remained unchanged. The number of players on the field did decrease, because Magallán was allowed to enter red after receiving his second yellow card. The Argentine central defender of Ajax got into an altercation with former Ajax player Amin Younes and was unable to control himself, so that the referee on duty could do little else than send him away with his second yellow card.
Ajax’s line-up: Stekelenburg (Gorter); Boss, Magallán, Pierie, Wijndal; Grillitsch (Giovanni), Regeer (Warmerdam), Fitz-Jim; Ocampos, Lucca, Martha.
FC Utrecht’s line-up: Raatsie; Klaiber, Meissen, Kluivert, Warmerdam; Brewers, Van de Zreek, Booth; Maeda, Redan, Younes.