AZ defeat high flyers Vitesse

Published on 28 oktober 12, 00:00

ARNHEM- On Sunday, AZ recorded a fantastic 2-1 victory against Vitesse in their own backyard. The home side had been unbeaten in their last nine games at the Gelredome but it was AZ who went home the happier of the two with a much needed three points. It was Roy Beerens and Johann Berg Gudmundsson who got on the scoresheet for Verbeeks men.

AZ - in 13th place in the Eredivisie and undoubtedly boosted by the return of Adam Maher and Jozy Altidore - had it all to do against their title-chasing opponents in 2nd place but after only two minutes, Johann Berg Gudmundsson could have opened the scoring for the visitors but his effort was saved by Vitesse goalkeeper Piet Velthuizen.

AZ on top
Despite AZ having the lions share of the chances in the early stages of the game through Donny Gorter, Maher and Altidore, they were all denied by an in-form Velthuizen. It took almost forty minutes before Roy Beerens could break the deadlock after heading home a Gorter cross making it 1-0. At the other end, Vitesse failed to create any serious opportunities which did not go down well with the home supporters.

Pressure
Immediately after the break, it was evident that Vitesse had changed their approach and former AZ player Simon Cziommer was replaced by Renato Ibarra. Vitesse continued to push which resulted in several chances but the Eredivisies top scorer Wilfried Bony, Tomas Kalas and Ibarra were all unable to breach Estebans goal.

Equaliser
An equaliser looked likely for Vitesse as the game progressed as the home side exerted maximum effort with Marco van Ginkel and Mike Havenaar coming close. Vitesses endeavour paid off in the 73rd minute when Marco van Ginkel slotted home a Gaël Kakuta cross to level the scores.

Counter attack
Vitesse looked capable of snatching victory from under the noses of AZ but were unable to covert their chances. However, just before the final whistle, AZ broke loose at pace on the counter attack and it was Altidore who fed the ball to Gudmundsson who beat Velthuizen with a hard, low strike sealing victory for AZ to the delight of their fans.

AZ recorded their first Eredivisie away win in Arnhem since March 2012 when they defeated De Graafschap 2-0. This coming Sunday VVV-Venlo visit the AFAS Stadium for AZs next league clash at 14:30hrs and next Thursday, AZ visit SWZ Boso Sneek in the third round of the KNVB Cup in the hope of embarking on a cup run.

MATCH CHARACTERISTICS:

Vitesse AZ 1-2 (0-1)

Lineup Vitesse: Piet Velthuizen; Tomas Kalas, Guram Kashia, Jan-Arie van der Heijden, Patrick van Aanholt; Simon Cziommer (46. Renato Ibarra), Marco van Ginkel, Theo Janssen; Jonathan Reis, Wilfried Bony, Mike Havenaar (67. Gaël Kakuta).

Lineup AZ: Esteban; Dirk Marcellis, Etiënne Reijnen, Nick Viergever, Donny Gorter; Adam Maher, Markus Henriksen, Viktor Elm; Roy Beerens (81. Mikhail Rosheuvel), Jozy Altidore, Johann Berg Gudmundsson.

Goals: 39. Beerens 0-1, 73. Van Ginkel 1-1, 88. Gudmundsson 1-2.

Bookings: Elm, Viergever (AZ).

Sent-offs: -

Referee: Pieter Vink.

Attendance: 18.035