A late winner by Kolbeinn Sigthorsson saw Ajax beat a spirited Groningen 2-1 at the Amsterdam Arena and move four points clear at the top.
- By Michael Bell
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Ajax started brightly with Siem de Jong firing over from a Lasse Schone knockdown, while Bojan could only fire wide from in front of goal after an excellent cross from Ricardo van Rhijn.
On 28 minutes Ajax were awarded a penalty after Eric Botteghin brought down Bojan, and Schone sent Marco Bizot the wrong way to make it 1-0.
The woodwork prevented Ajax from extending their lead shortly after as Davy Klaassen’s header hit the bar, and Schone saw a fine free kick come back off the post.
Before the break Groningen equalised through a fantastic curling effort by Filip Kostic who left Kenneth Vermeer rooted to the spot with a shot that flew in off the post.
Kostic nearly gave Groningen the lead in the second half, but after a fine run by the winger his shot was well stopped by Vermeer.
Frank de Boer brought on Kolbeinn Sigthorsson, and the forward saw his first chance come off the post, while the woodwork was involved again, as Vermeer pushed Richairo Zivkovic’s deflected shot onto the bar at the other end.
With seven minutes left, Sigthorsson was the hero for Ajax, as he got ahead of Giliano Wijnaldum to head Christian Poulsen’s cross past Bizot.
The win keeps Ajax on course for the title and four points ahead of Twente, who have a game in hand. The result was harsh on Groningen, who put in a spirited display, but they have now not won in three and sit 8th in the table.
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