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Ajax have said goodbye to the year of 2019 in winning fashion. ADO Den Haag came to visit the Johan Cruijff Arena, but at no point during the match could they have felt like they were competing for a result. Ajax wiped ADO off the pitch with three new young faces in the starting line-up, all of whom scored on their debut. Ajax 6 – 1 ADO.
As expected, Ajax were the ones to show the most initiative from the very start. Ryan Gravenberch, who started for Ajax for the first time, created the first hints of danger in the opening stages. After about ten minutes of football Ajax started to create one opportunity after the other. Donny van de Beek delivered a cross to Tadić, whose header ended up in the hands of goalkeeper Koopmans. After that, both Jurgen Ekkelenkamp and Lassina Traoré, also first-time starters, tried their luck in front of the goal but failed.
ADO could not keep getting away with this, of course, and they didn’t. After granting all the youngsters a chance to score, it was veteran Hakim Ziyech who opened the scoring. He curled the ball into the net at the far post with a beautiful effort from the edge of the box in the 15th minute. The opposing goalkeeper, who was in for a frustrating afternoon, stood no chance on this occasion. ADO responded with their first shot on goal through Summerville, but the 2-0 was scored just minutes after. Ziyech was again the culprit, swinging one of his infamous crosses into the box where Donny van de Beek popped up and finished.
The guests were looking severely outclassed in that first half, and it took them more than half an hour to have a second attempt at goal. Aaron Meijers never really troubled André Onana, however. Jurgen Ekkelenkamp was next to score. A long Ajax offensive ended with Nico Tagliafico delivering the ball into the box, where Ekkelenkamp could simply walk the ball into the net. Blink twice and it’s 4-0. Tadić handed the ball to Ryan Gravenberch, who dribbled into the box and caught the goalkeeper off-guard with a shot to the far post. Ajax received a standing ovation when they reached half-time with 4-0 on the board.
Ajax kept their foot on the gas after the break, looking to shake off all the negativity surrounding the club these past two weeks. Captain Tadić scored the fifth goal just three minutes into the second half after a good passing combination with Lassina Traoré. The latter had been working very hard to try to score on his starting debut, and his efforts finally paid off in the 63rd minute. When the ADO goalkeeper blocked an effort by Tadić, Lassina Traoré was first to the rebound and calmly scored.
Things could have been a lot worse even for ADO Den Haag, especially after Danny Bakker was sent off and ADO were forced to play on with ten. But Ajax were more wasteful on the ball in the last thirty minutes of the match. After securing a victory with six goals, some players started to prioritize their own goal-tally above the team’s. So a few players shot when they should have passed, but of course, it did not matter much anymore at that point. Sontje Hansen made his official debut in the 79th minute, and he’ll be forgiven for not scoring on his debut.
ADO will be happy to have evaded a double-digit defeat, which definitely could have happened. They actually managed to score in the 92nd minute from the penalty spot, but there wasn’t much cause for celebration. Ajax, on the other hand, could rejoice in a fitting end to an incredibly successful 2019.