The Talent Tracker #13

October 22th, 2024, I went to the following evening match in the Dutch youth league.

• ?AFC Ajax U17 - AZ Alkmaar U17

AFC Ajax U17 - AZ Alkmaar U17 Half time 1-1, after 90 minutes 1-1 Kick-off 22-10-2024 18:00, Location ‘de Toekomst’ ('The Future')

Match is played on real grass, temperature on the field was approximately 14 degrees Celsius and sunny with no wind. Approximately 400 – 500 spectators.

First half

the match started very cautiously both teams only played safe passes. The field play was well taken care of. Good communication and triangles as it is taught. The trainers have taught this well, compliments to them. However, for the neutral observer it was boring. Especially because the pace was also very slow. There was more intensity in the warm up.

Sometimes the tactical game is more important than entertaining the audience. In any case, we had to wait for the first mistake. This came after 7 minutes. A pass into AFC Ajax's midfield was intercepted by AZ Alkmaar and a simple through ball was sufficient to enable the running midfielder to score and the 0-1 was on the scoreboard. Very well executed!

After this both teams sticked to their plan and nothing serious was happening on the pitch. AFC Ajax had to force something to score a goal. However, AZ Alkmaar defended well, partly because the final pass did not arrive properly. Yet more corners were awarded and from one of the corners a situation arose in the 20th minute where AFC Ajax was able to take a few shots at the goal and the ball ended up at the feet of an AFC Ajax player through a scrimmage who scored the equalizer. Nothing special happened until half time.

Second half

The second half started very carefully and slowly, just like the first half. AFC Ajax did create slightly more chances in the first part of the second half, but was unable to score. The second part of the second half was played a little more opportunistically, especially from AFC Ajax's side, but this also did not have the desired effect. There was one chance that they should have capitalized on, that player will dream about it a few more times. In the last eight minutes, AZ Alkmaar was able to try something through counters because there was a lot of space behind AFC Ajax's defensive line. However, scoring was not possible. The match ended in a draw.

Overall

Although the match was quite boring, learning to deal with the more tactical aspect of the game needs to be developed too. I think AZ did a great job on how they operated as a team, though I think Ajax had more individual quality in the team. I have seen most players before but their performance in this game will be added to my database.

Mirsad Keric Damiano Arturi Marcus Illburger Katarina ?osi? Adis Doksanalti?

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