“Tolu Arokodare heads home from a Jorthy Mokio cross to give NEC an early lead against the run of general expectation.”
Pivotal“Tjaronn Chery steps up confidently and slots the penalty into the bottom right corner to level the score at 1-1.”
Pivotal
Ajax
NEC Nijmegen
Outstanding performance
Ajax•MidfielderAjax completely controlled the game in terms of territory and chances, racking up 18 shots to NEC's 8 and creating four big chances to NEC's one, yet couldn't turn that dominance into victory after conceding an early penalty. The visitors rode their luck following Jorthy Mokio's reckless concession of a spot-kick, with Tjaronn Chery converting calmly to cancel out Tolu Arokodare's early header. After the frantic opening 20 minutes, the match settled into a pattern of Ajax probing with 61% possession and 487 passes against a well-organized NEC defense that made 18 tackles and 4 saves to hold firm. Despite missing four big chances and making a flurry of second-half substitutions to chase a winner, Ajax were left to rue their profligacy in front of goal as NEC held on for a credible point.
How entertaining was this match?
The fourth official has indicated that there will be 3 minutes of added time.
Attempt missed. Abdellah Ouazane (Ajax) had a left-footed shot from the left side of the six-yard box that was close, but it went to the left. Sofyan Amrabat provided the assist.
Attempt missed. Julian Brandt from Ajax takes a right-footed shot from outside the box, but it goes too high from a direct free kick.
Foul committed by Ahmetcan Kaplan of NEC.
Marcos Leonardo from Ajax wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Noé Lebreton from NEC commits a foul.
Jorthy Mokio from Ajax is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Dusan Tadic from NEC has a right-footed shot from over 40 yards on the right wing, but it's saved in the center of the goal by Marc ter Stegen from Ajax.
Substitution for NEC: Jamiro Monteiro comes on for Kevin Kers.
Substitution for NEC: Willum Willumsson comes on for Tjaronn Chery.
Tjaronn Chery of NEC is caught offside.
Thilo Kehrer from Ajax wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul committed by Mitchel Bakker (NEC).
Substitution for Ajax: Davy Klaassen comes on for Owen Wijndal.
Attempt saved. Abdellah Ouazane from Ajax has his right-footed shot from the left side of the box saved in the center of the goal by Gonzalo Crettaz from NEC. The shot was assisted by Simon Adingra.
NEC wins a corner after Aaron Bouwman concedes.
Attempt missed. Julian Brandt (Ajax) takes a right-footed shot from the center of the box that is close but misses the top right corner.
Attempt saved. Abdellah Ouazane from Ajax has his right-footed shot from the right side of the box saved in the center of the goal by Gonzalo Crettaz from NEC.
Attempt missed. Marcos Leonardo from Ajax has a left-footed shot from outside the box that goes to the right. Julian Brandt provided the assist.
Substitution for Ajax: Marcos Leonardo comes on for Tolu Arokodare.
Substitution for Ajax: Aaron Bouwman comes on for Lucas Rosa.
Substitution for NEC: Ahmetcan Kaplan comes on for Perr Schuurs.
Substitution for NEC: Mitchel Bakker comes on for Bryan Linssen.
Attempt blocked. Kevin Kers from NEC has a right-footed shot from the left side of the box that is blocked. Tjaronn Chery provided the assist.
NEC wins a corner after Lucas Rosa concedes.
Tobias Storm from NEC has his right-footed shot from the right side of the box blocked.
NEC wins a corner after Lucas Rosa concedes.
NEC wins a corner after Sofyan Amrabat concedes.
Abdellah OuazaneYellow CardAbdellah Ouazane from Ajax receives a yellow card for a foul.
Bryan Linssen of NEC wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul committed by Abdellah Ouazane of Ajax.
Deveron Fonville from NEC commits a foul.
Simon Adingra from Ajax wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul committed by Gabriel Brás of NEC.
Abdellah Ouazane from Ajax is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Sofyan Amrabat's right-footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Julian Brandt provided the assist.
Ajax wins a corner after Gabriel Brás concedes.
Substitution for Ajax: Simon Adingra comes on for Viktor Tsygankov.
Ajax is called offside as Tolu Arokodare is caught in an offside position.
Substitution for Ajax: Abdellah Ouazane comes on for Oscar Gloukh.
Gabriel Brás from NEC misses an attempt with a header from the right side of the box, sending it too high. The cross was provided by Tobias Storm.
Offside called against NEC. Tjaronn Chery is the player caught offside.
Attempt missed. Kevin Kers from NEC heads the ball from the center of the box, but it goes to the right. Darko Nejasmic provided the assist with a cross.
Noé Lebreton from NEC is awarded a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul committed by Jorthy Mokio of Ajax.
Attempt blocked. Julian Brandt from Ajax has a right-footed shot from outside the box that is blocked.
Viktor Tsygankov from Ajax wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Gabriel BrásYellow CardGabriel Brás from NEC receives a yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul committed by Gabriel Brás of NEC.
Foul committed by Perr Schuurs of NEC.
Tolu Arokodare from Ajax wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Kevin Kers from NEC takes a right-footed shot from outside the box that is close but goes to the right. He was assisted by Dusan Tadic.
Attempt blocked. Oscar Gloukh from Ajax has a right-footed shot from the left side of the box that is blocked. Julian Brandt provided the assist.
Oscar Gloukh from Ajax attempts a left-footed shot from the left side of the box, but it goes close and misses to the right. Julian Brandt provided the assist.
The second half begins with the match tied at 1-1 between Ajax and NEC.
The fourth official has indicated that there will be 0 minutes of added time.
First half ends with the score tied at 1-1 between Ajax and NEC.
Dusan Tadic from NEC commits a foul.
Youri Baas from Ajax wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt blocked. Youri Baas from Ajax has his left-footed shot from outside the box blocked.
Ajax have been awarded a corner after Darko Nejasmic concedes.
Foul committed by Deveron Fonville (NEC).
Viktor Tsygankov from Ajax wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Tolu Arokodare from Ajax heads the ball from the center of the box but it goes to the right. The cross was assisted by Youri Baas.
Offside called against NEC. Bryan Linssen is caught offside.
Lucas Rosa from Ajax commits a foul.
Noé Lebreton from NEC is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Oscar Gloukh's right-footed shot from the center of the box is blocked. Julian Brandt provided the assist.
Foul committed by Bryan Linssen (NEC).
Oscar Gloukh from Ajax is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Bryan LinssenYellow CardBryan Linssen from NEC receives a yellow card.
Youri Baas from Ajax commits a foul.
Tjaronn Chery from NEC wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul committed by Bryan Linssen of NEC.
Youri Baas from Ajax is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Tobias Storm from NEC is awarded a free kick on the right wing.
Owen Wijndal from Ajax committed a foul.
Tjaronn Chery from NEC is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Sofyan Amrabat from Ajax commits a foul.
Attempt missed. Lucas Rosa from Ajax takes a right-footed shot from outside the box but misses to the left. He was assisted by Owen Wijndal after a corner.
Ajax wins a corner after Gabriel Brás concedes.
Offside called against NEC. Tjaronn Chery is caught offside.
Attempt saved. Oscar Gloukh from Ajax has his right-footed shot from the center of the box saved in the bottom right corner by Gonzalo Crettaz of NEC. The chance was assisted by Julian Brandt with a through ball.
Jorthy Mokio from Ajax hits the bar with a left-footed shot from the center of the box, assisted by Julian Brandt.
Foul committed by Darko Nejasmic (NEC).
Tolu Arokodare from Ajax is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Offside called against NEC. Bryan Linssen is caught offside.
Goal! Tjaronn Chery scores for NEC with a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner. The match is now 1-1.
Jorthy MokioYellow CardJorthy Mokio from Ajax receives a yellow card for a bad foul.
Penalty awarded to NEC as Noé Lebreton is fouled in the penalty area.
Penalty conceded by Jorthy Mokio of Ajax for a foul in the penalty area.
Tjaronn Chery from NEC is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Sofyan Amrabat from Ajax commits a foul.
Ajax win a corner after Kevin Kers concedes.
Foul committed by Kevin Kers of NEC.
Lucas Rosa from Ajax is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
assist: Jorthy Mokio
Goal! Ajax leads 1-0 against NEC. Tolu Arokodare scores with a header from the center of the box into the bottom right corner, assisted by Jorthy Mokio's cross.
Attempt missed. Noé Lebreton from NEC takes a right-footed shot from outside the box, but it goes to the left.
First half begins.
