‘Don’t have anything yet,’ warns Ajax coach Bakker after coup in title race

“It was fifty-fifty three times, but we lost three times,” the Ajax coach continued. “Now in the most important game it fell our way. We scored right on the first chance and then they have to come. We were able to leave Twente on the ball and our goalkeeper Lize Kop was fantastic.”

Tiny Hoekstra opened the score early on at De Toekomst and Twente failed to score despite a ball on the post by Renate Jansen and on the crossbar by Wieke Kaptein. With the win, Ajax took over the lead from defending champion Twente with one game to go.

For Twente coach Joran Pot, the grapes were sour. His team played excellently almost all season with only an unfortunate defeat against Fortuna Sittard and with a goal difference of 79-4 in the previous 18 duels. However, the finishing was substandard in Amsterdam.

“We should have walked off the field as winners here,” the coach said. “We were more dominant and stronger, but hurt ourselves. We had plenty of chances and opportunities, but didn’t take advantage of them.”

FC Twente attacker Renate Jansen, who dropped out in the 70th minute because of a calf injury, shared her coach’s opinion. “To win a game, you have to score,” she said. “We showed good soccer, but of all those chances, one just has to go in, despite Lize Kop’s fantastic goalkeeping.”

Twente goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar was at fault for the only goal. She handled a shot by Ashleigh Weerden at the feet of matchwinner Tiny Hoekstra. Van Domselaar didn’t want to dwell on it too long and still believes in the title. “It’s still open, we’re just going for it,” she said.