Manager Heitinga leads Ajax to a comfortable victory in his second game

John Heitinga has made it two wins out of two as Ajax manager. They defeated relegation candidates SC Cambuur (0-5) much more straightforwardly than last week against Excelsior (1-4). Ajax closed the gap to leaders Feyenoord to two points, but the Rotterdammers play PSV later today.

Ajax, which started with the same side they did last week, gave Cambuur many fewer chances than they gave Excelsior. The attack was fluid at times, resulting in many opportunities, especially at the start of the match.

Ajax scored their first after 16 minutes. After a classy combination, the again-positioned as striker Dusan Tadic received the ball from Davy Klaassen in the penalty area. The Serbian captain of Ajax made no mistake in the one-on-one with SC Cambuur goalkeeper Robbin Ruiter. Ajax kept combining around the area and was hardly bothered by the many Cambuur defenders. Steven Bergwijn missed several chances.

Heitinga found out earlier this week that he will finish the season as manager, replacing Alfred Schreuder, who was sacked. His side took a deserved 2-0 lead ten minutes before halftime. A shot was rebounded to Mohamed Kudus, who beat his opponent with a nice dribble on the byline before crossing to Steven Berghuis, who headed the ball home.

Only right before halftime did Sjors Ultee’s side show some form of danger after a mistake by Edson Alvarez. Silvester van der Water was free in front of Ajax goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, but his shot went over the bar. Cambuur, who have only beaten PSV at home and lost every other match, were whistled several times by their fans.

Cambuur had no chance of getting back into the match after halftime. Berghuis scored from a distance after 64 minutes to make it 3-0, which allowed Heitinga to make many substitutions. The 16-year-old Jorrel Hato made his league debut. Brian Brobbey came off the bench to score twice.

With their 40 points, Ajax is back in the top three for a while. Number two, AZ has 41 points, and PSV has 38 in fourth. Cambuur is still in relegation trouble due to the home loss. FC Groningen has the same points at the bottom of the table but still plays FC Twente at home.