The first leg of the Conference League between Ajax and Aston Villa ended 0-0 in Amsterdam.
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Ajax named the same eleven that defeated Utrecht 2-0 at the weekend, while Aston Villa named a strong eleven despite their clash against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.
With five defenders, Ajax were compact and they managed to keep Aston Villa at bay for most of the first half. A shot from Moussa Diaby was no problem for Diant Ramaj.
The best chance of the half fell for Ajax when Brian Brobbey got through on goal but his shot went into the side netting. He also had a header saved by Emi Martinez.
In the second half, Kenneth Taylor got a good opportunity but his shot was kept out by Martinez. With ten minutes to go, Chuba Akpom went to ground under a tussle with Ezri Konza and the Villa defender was sent off.
Ajax’s advantage was short lived though as Tristan Gooijer was also shown a second yellow card for a rash tackle.
Towards the end, Akpom almost got his head to a cross while Ahmetcan Kaplan made an excellent tackle to deny Leon Bailey at the other end.
Ajax will take a 0-0 draw into the second leg in Birmingham next week.
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