Pressure mounts on Alfred Schreuder as Ajax fails to beat FC Volendam at home

Pressure continues to mount on manager Alfred Schreuder as Ajax failed to defeat FC Volendam at home on Thursday. The opponents were 17th in the league table before the match. Damon Mirani and Mohamed Kudus scored the goals in a 1-1 draw.

Alfred Schreuder made a few changes to his side as Brian Brobbey, and Steven Bergwijn came into the side for Mohamed Kudus and Francisco Conceição.

Ajax had a poor first half which did not help Alfred Schreuder’s case as the fans brought banners and sang songs telling him to leave throughout. The closest Ajax came to taking the lead in the first half was after 37 minutes when Brian Brobbey thought he was about to score, but a great tackle blocked it from a Volendam defender.

Davy Klaassen suffered a similar fate after 55 minutes when a Dusan Tadic cross found him, and his attempt was also blocked by one of the many Volendam defenders standing in the box.

Volendam took a shock lead four minutes later. Centre-back Damon Mirani headed home from a deep free-kick hoisted into the box by Carel Eiting. Both players had played for Ajax in the past.

Ajax was tense, with nothing seeming to come off for them. Steven Bergwijn was substituted and showed his anger by throwing his coat while storming to the bench. Ajax did level with over 10 minutes left through Mohamed Kudus. The two substitutes combined as Lorenzo Lucca headed the ball onto the onrushing Kudus, who smashed the ball home in the near post.

Ajax has not won in the last seven matches. This is their joint longest winless run in their history. It was only equaled in the 1962, 1964, and 1965 seasons. Ajax will face Excelsior away on Sunday.