Ach Holland! Vijftien miljoen mensen op een hele klijne stukje aarde.
I had a great four years there in the mid-1990s when Ajax were at one of their cyclical peaks. Still my favourite posting. Wandering the "tourist" downtown area with friends one balmy evening, one of their kids asked what was being sold in some of the “shop” windows. Without missing a beat, the mum replied that they were underwear shops. "Just like Marks & Spencer at home, but here they use real models."
Windmills, bicycles, canals, milk-chugging damsels, drugs, quasi-legal euthanasia, traveller-merchants supreme and Masters of Total Football -- well not this lot. Bottom of the Cosmo league last season, rusty after just one previous pre-season friendly, and there for the taking. BC faces coming off the pitch at the end of the game told the tale - disappointment at not having killed off this game. Twice ahead, two momentary lapses of concentration in defence ... match drawn. Verdomme.
The BC made a strong start in sweltering heat on a bouncy, dust-blown pitch. Tight at the back, fluid in the middle and width gave us a better opening 20 minutes than normal. On the left, GM, RS and MB wove pretty patterns and made headway, with BM and JR typically industrious in midfield and CA exemplary as target man. JR and JL offered an alternative on the right flank.
At this stage, we were playing some really good football and went ahead after 15 minutes or so, with IB, shaking off the effects of the Shanghai red-eye, crossing with deadly accuracy for CA to head home at the far post.
1-0 at half-time and looking to up a gear and dispel any lingering doubts about AL's leadership record .... Then, we gifted them an equaliser. Despite exhortations to keep it simple and hoof it out, a back pass was attempted, intercepted, played back to the edge of the area and swept into the net.
The BC rallied and continued to carve out chances. MB's pace on the left was a constant threat, but crosses and shots were just off target. NG, clearly feeling the effects of hawking stale bagels around Orchard Towers at 3 a.m., almost put us back in front but his effort went wide. Dictating the pace and rhythm of the game, the BC regained the lead midway through the second half. MB attacked down the left, AL had a shot blocked, but GT chased down the loose ball and slipped it back to Ant, who slammed it past the keeper and defenders on the line. Slip, slam, thank you m'am. Back in the lead and a Cosmo scalp there for the taking.
We could have stretched the lead further, with AW catching the eye as an attacking right-back, but chances went begging, and we gifted them a second, undeserved equaliser, failing to pick up their lone striker, a Thomas Gravesen lookalike, who ghosted through a static back-four to the byline and somehow squeezed a shot past CB.
MoM to AW, who finally looks to have resolved our main problem position with a strong peformance at right-back -- RS ran him close at left-back.
I had a great four years there in the mid-1990s when Ajax were at one of their cyclical peaks. Still my favourite posting. Wandering the "tourist" downtown area with friends one balmy evening, one of their kids asked what was being sold in some of the “shop” windows. Without missing a beat, the mum replied that they were underwear shops. "Just like Marks & Spencer at home, but here they use real models."
Windmills, bicycles, canals, milk-chugging damsels, drugs, quasi-legal euthanasia, traveller-merchants supreme and Masters of Total Football -- well not this lot. Bottom of the Cosmo league last season, rusty after just one previous pre-season friendly, and there for the taking. BC faces coming off the pitch at the end of the game told the tale - disappointment at not having killed off this game. Twice ahead, two momentary lapses of concentration in defence ... match drawn. Verdomme.
The BC made a strong start in sweltering heat on a bouncy, dust-blown pitch. Tight at the back, fluid in the middle and width gave us a better opening 20 minutes than normal. On the left, GM, RS and MB wove pretty patterns and made headway, with BM and JR typically industrious in midfield and CA exemplary as target man. JR and JL offered an alternative on the right flank.
At this stage, we were playing some really good football and went ahead after 15 minutes or so, with IB, shaking off the effects of the Shanghai red-eye, crossing with deadly accuracy for CA to head home at the far post.
1-0 at half-time and looking to up a gear and dispel any lingering doubts about AL's leadership record .... Then, we gifted them an equaliser. Despite exhortations to keep it simple and hoof it out, a back pass was attempted, intercepted, played back to the edge of the area and swept into the net.
The BC rallied and continued to carve out chances. MB's pace on the left was a constant threat, but crosses and shots were just off target. NG, clearly feeling the effects of hawking stale bagels around Orchard Towers at 3 a.m., almost put us back in front but his effort went wide. Dictating the pace and rhythm of the game, the BC regained the lead midway through the second half. MB attacked down the left, AL had a shot blocked, but GT chased down the loose ball and slipped it back to Ant, who slammed it past the keeper and defenders on the line. Slip, slam, thank you m'am. Back in the lead and a Cosmo scalp there for the taking.
We could have stretched the lead further, with AW catching the eye as an attacking right-back, but chances went begging, and we gifted them a second, undeserved equaliser, failing to pick up their lone striker, a Thomas Gravesen lookalike, who ghosted through a static back-four to the byline and somehow squeezed a shot past CB.
MoM to AW, who finally looks to have resolved our main problem position with a strong peformance at right-back -- RS ran him close at left-back.
Groupie count was down to a disappointing 1
Favourite Dutch bumper sticker: If You Can Read This, Someone's Nicked My Caravan ...
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