Heitinga saw the Ajax he wanted to see in the final: ‘But the poison cup must be empty’ | Football

Apr 30, 2023 at 9:59 PMUpdate: 3 minutes ago

John Heitinga is very disappointed with the lost cup final against PSV. The Ajax trainer believes that his team would have earned more in De Kuip on Sunday based on the effort shown.

“This is just shit. The team fought and had opportunities, but they were not used. At least we responded. The winner’s mentality was there,” Heitinga told ESPN .

With “given a response”, the coach meant that Ajax came out better than a week ago, when PSV lost 3-0 in the Eredivisie. As a result, the team from Amsterdam lost second place.

“The poison cup must be empty,” he continued about the final. “But I’ve seen players who really wanted to fight for each other. We stood up for each other. After the 1-0, we didn’t take advantage of the 2-0.”

Brian Brobbey is disappointed after he shoots his penalty high. Photo: Getty Images

Heitinga does not blame Brobbey

In the lost penalty shootout, Brian Brobbey, Jurriën Timber and Edson Álvarez missed on behalf of Ajax. Brobbey also missed a huge chance of 2-0 in regular playing time.

Heitinga didn’t blame him. “Brian showed today that he could play for 120 minutes and created chances. We know that he has exceptional qualities and is not normally strong. He showed that at times. He was also very stable on the ball.”

Brobbey himself was very disappointed by his unfortunate role in the final, although he mainly wanted to see the positive things. “We gave everything. I am very proud of the boys. But it really sucks.”

Ajax still has four games to take second place in the Eredivisie. In a week, number four AZ will come to the Johan Cruijff ArenA.

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