Soccer-Feyenoord add to Ajax woe by completing victory in suspended match

AFC Ajax NV

27/09/2023 14:24

AMSTERDAM, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Dutch champions Feyenoord
wasted no time in adding to the troubles of Ajax Amsterdam and
ended up beating their hosts 4-0 when the two clubs on Wednesday
completed their Dutch league game that was halted at the
weekend.
    Feyenoord's Mexican international striker Santiago Gimenez
added another goal to complete his hat-trick as the two sides
played out the remaining 34 minutes behind closed doors at the
Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam.
    The clash was halted on Sunday as fans threw flares onto the
pitch, and mounted police used tear gas to disperse rioting fans
outside the stadium.
    Ajax were trailing 3-0 in the second half when the game was
initially suspended in the 56th minute before being abandoned. 
    Gimenez needed only three minutes after play restarted, with
Feyenoord in possession 10 minutes from the halfway line, to
score and make it 4-0, snapping up a rebound after Igor Paixao
had his initial effort blocked.
    It was only the second time Feyenoord had scored four goals
away against traditional rivals Ajax and took them up to third
in the standings.
    The defeat adds pressure on new coach Maurice Steijn whose
future has been the subject of much speculation. After Sunday’s
fiasco Ajax fired their technical director Sven Mislintat, who
had appointed Steijn, and the club's top administrator Pier
Eringa resigned hours before Wednesday's kickoff.
    Ajax, who have had a poor start to the season with just one
win, sit 14th in the 18-team league. They finished third last
season and failed to qualify for the Champions League for the
first time in 13 seasons. 

 (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Christian
Radnedge)
 ((mark.gleeson@thomsonreuters.com; +27828257807; Reuters
Messaging: mark.gleeson.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))