Wout Weghorst double saves poor Ajax performance against Telstar; Feyenoord win 2-0
Ajax and Feyenoord started their Eredivisie campaigns with 2-0 victories at home over the weekend. Ajax defeated newly promoted Telstar on Sunday after Feyenoord had beaten NAC Breda on Saturday. FC Utrecht, AZ Alkmaar, and NEC all picked up emphatic wins on the first match day.
John Heitinga’s first competitive match after his return as Ajax manager ended in a victory, but it was far from convincing. Two goals from Wout Weghorst in the 19th and 83rd minute ensured that the Amsterdammers picked up the three points, but it came after Telstar had 18 shots, three more than Heitinga’s side. For comparison, Ajax only faced this many shots on one occasion during the previous Eredivisie season, against NEC.
Heitinga admitted after the game that his side’s performance was below par.
"Sometimes we didn’t put on any pressure, and a few times we lost the ball carelessly. I’m happy we won, but it really has to be better. I also want to give Telstar a big compliment. At times, they dared to press us high up the field. Let’s not forget that we also created a lot of chances ourselves. And I’m also pleased that Weghorst scored twice. We could and should have scored more often."
Feyenoord’s victory against NAC Breda was a lot more comfortable. The Rotterdammers took an early lead through a fantastic free kick from the team’s new captain, Sem Steijn, after three minutes. Ayase Ueda added a second goal in the 55th minute.
Robin van Persie’s side will now travel to Istanbul to face Fenerbahce in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League qualifier on Tuesday evening. The Rotterdammers have a 2-1 lead after the first leg.
FC Utrecht made it seven goals scored in four days when they hammered Heracles Almelo 4-0 at home on Sunday. Ron Jans’ side had beaten Swiss side Servette 1-3 on Thursday in a qualifier for the UEFA Europa League. Gijval Zechiel scored his second goal of the week after 33 minutes to break the deadlock. This was then followed by goals from David Min, Victor Jensen, and Dani de Wit to make it 4-0 in the Galgenwaard.
Another team that had a successful European game on Thursday and followed it up with a strong showing on Sunday was AZ. After beating FC Vaduz 3-0 on Thursday in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League qualifier, they had a surprisingly easy game against FC Groningen on Sunday.
Groningen, who finished 13th in their first season back in the Eredivisie in 2025, were put to the sword by Maarten Martens’ side, with AZ delighting the crowd in the AFAS Stadium with three goals in the first half.
Full-back Denso Kasius scored after just five minutes before Troy Parrott doubled the score with a penalty in the 18th minute. A Stije Resink own goal made it 3-0 after 32 minutes before Marco Renee scored for Groningen right before half time. Parrott finished off the scoring with another goal in the 87th minute.
NEC made a statement of intent with a 5-0 hammering of newly promoted side Excelsior. Dirk Proper, Koki Ogawa (2), Bryan Linssen, and Tjarron Cherry scored in Nijmegen.
It was just the second time in Eredivisie history that not a single side playing away was able to win their first game of the season. The only other time this occured was in the 2001-02 season, According to Bart Frouws of Voetbal International.
