Slavia Prague come back to rescue Europa League draw against Ajax
On borderline unstoppable form having won eight of their nine league fixtures so far this season along with their Europa League opener, it was by no means a poor start by Slavia, but they found themselves behind inside 20 minutes.
Ajax’s Christian Rasmussen darted in front of Ondrej Zmrzly and was duly taken down in the area by the Slavia defender, with Branco van den Boomen making no mistake in converting from the resulting spot-kick.
Further frustration was supplied by referee Andris Treimanis’ refusal to return the favour to the hosts when Simion Michez went down under pressure from Kenneth Taylor at the other end.
The opener clearly instilled a new level of fight among the Slavia corps, and an equaliser nearly presented itself when Mojmir Chytil poked wide following Conrad Wallem’s inswinging free-kick.
Despite the hosts’ pressure, Remko Pasveer had had very little to deal with in the opening period, although he was unwavering in the face of a powerful hit from Zmrzly.
The Ajax stopper then got involved with the visitors’ attack with a ball over the top to Brian Brobbey, who fought off David Zima but prodded wide on the finish.
The absence of numerous experienced names in the Ajax lineup began to make things difficult as the second half got underway, but they could still call upon the 40-year-old Pasveer to brilliantly deny Michez’s deflected effort.
Pasveer continued on top form in the face of relentless pressure from Slavia, but he was powerless to stop the nearly two-metre-tall Tomas Chory from nodding in Matej Jurasek’s cross for the equaliser.
More encouragement for the home side was soon given after Ajax’s Youri Baas was shown a second yellow card for going in late on Jurasek.
That led to a nervy final 15 minutes in which Slavia dominated play, but defensive substitutions coupled with six total saves from Pasveer saw the points shared.
Having both won their opening Europa League matches, a draw is by no means a disaster for either side, although Slavia do see their winning streak come to an end after six matches for the second time this season.
A seventh outing without defeat for Ajax shows promise for the reign of Francesco Farioli, and the upcoming return of some senior players is further cause for optimism.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Remko Pasveer (Ajax)