Ajax come from behind to beat NAC Breda in latest step toward the Eredivisie title
Ajax took another step closer to their 37th league title on Sunday with a difficult win over NAC Breda. The club has a nine point lead over league leaders PSV Eindhoven, the second placed side, with six games left in the season.
The Amsterdam club needs 10 points to secure the title if PSV win their remaining games. The 125 year old club will face Sparta, NEC, and FC Twente in the Johan Cruijff ArenA and will play away games against Willem II, FC Utrecht, and FC Groningen.
Ajax beat PSV and Feyenoord in all four games this season but they lost the first game against NAC Breda with a heavily rotated side. The club from Breda took a surprising lead in the ArenA. Leo Sauer was given too much space from the Ajax defenders in the ninth minute and the loanee winger showed why Feyenoord want him to return to Rotterdam after this season with a placed finish to make it 0-1.
Ajax was struggling without the suspended Brian Brobbey, Anton Gaaei, and the injured Youri Baas. NAC was compact in defense and did not give any chances away initially.
Francesco Farioli was so disappointed with his team’s performance that he had Jordan Henderson, who was being rested for the game, begin his warming up after half an hour. Ajax was gifted the equalizer through a mistake by NAC keeper Roy Kortsmit.
The 32-year-old is actually NAC’s second-choice keeper behind Daniel Bielica. The team’s manager, Carl Hoefkens, gave him the starting spot because his successful long-ball technique could help the team with their counterattacks. But the decision backfired when he tried to dribble past Don-Angelo Konadu and fouled Brobbey’s 18-year-old replacement.
Kenneth Taylor converted the penalty, and Konadu then assisted the 2-1 from Steven Berghuis moments later.
Ajax have struggled to win games convincingly this season. NAC were the latest team to have hope of an upset with 15 minutes left in the game. Jorthy Mokio scored the third goal in the 76th minute after a well placed cross from Taylor.
Mokio came onto the pitch in the 60th minute, along with Wout Weghorst, who has recovered from a toe injury. The Amsterdam crowd were singing about the title at the end of the game.
NAC still has a six-point lead over Willem II, the 16th-placed side in the league title, who will have to play in the playoffs to avoid relegation as it stands.
