Saturday, July 24, 2010

ajax 1-3


Independent:

Chelsea stutter as Turnbull’s blunders hand Ajax victory
By Kieran Daley

Chelsea's pre-season tour to the Netherlands and Germany got off to an inauspicious start as a calamitous error by goalkeeper Ross Turnbull helped Martin Jol's Ajax to a comfortable 3-1 win in Amsterdam.
Jol, who is to remain in the Netherlands after his employers refused to release him to take over as Fulham manager, would have been delighted by the positive start his side made against the Premier League champions and they were rewarded with an early goal.
Former Feyenoord youngster Jeffrey Bruma attempted to clear a cross in the box but his header struck keeper Turnbull on the arm and flew into the net.
Daniel Sturridge then scored an excellent equaliser for Carlo Ancelotti's side, who were again without their World Cup contingent, as a loose ball broke to him around 25 yards out and the England Under-21 international produced a wonderful controlled finish.
But then Turnbull failed to deal with a long punt downfield by Dutch international keeper Maarten Stekelenburg, losing the ball as he slid towards the edge of his area to allow Siem de Jong to slot home into the empty net and give the hosts a 2-1 interval lead.
Korea's Suk Hyun-jun then sealed the win in the final minute as he tapped in Daley Blind's cross for the Eredivisie side

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Mail:

Ajax 3 Chelsea 1: Ross Turnbull shocker ruins his chances as stand-in Blues No 1
By Neil Moxley in Amsterdam

Carlo Ancelotti will be praying that Petr Cech makes a speedy recovery from a calf strain after one of the keeper's understudies, Ross Turnbull, suffered a personal nightmare in the Amsterdam Arena.
Chelsea's confirmed No 1 is expected to miss the start of the new Barclays Premier League season with a minor muscle injury but the club's third-choice, Turnbull, fluffed his audition with a woeful show.
The former Middlesbrough man scored an own goal and was responsible for another embarrassing gaffe that led to the hosts scoring their second of the evening after 45 minutes he will want to forget. Chelsea's boss threw Henrique Hilario into the action after Turnbull's hapless first-half showing and the Portuguese did his chances of starting against West Bromwich Albion the power of good with a far more assured display than that managed by his colleague.
The problems started for Chelsea after just six minutes. Ancelotti fielded a side with just two regulars but, even allowing for that, the Italian will be less than impressed with the first goal his side conceded in pre-season.
Rasmus Lindgren was afforded too much time to sweep over a right-wing cross and, with Jeffrey Bruma distracting Turnbull, the ball deflected into the net off the keeper's arm.
While that might have been unfortunate, the stand-in keeper's second blunder, just moments after Daniel Sturridge had scored a superb equaliser, was laughable.
Keeper Maarten Stekelenburg pumped a long goalkick downfield. Turnbull raced to the right-hand side of the penalty box, misjudged the bounce and his momentum took him out of the area as he gathered and slipped over.
He released the ball rather than be penalised for handball and Ajax striker Siem de Jong gratefully tapped the ball into the empty net. Unlike Turnbull, Jon Mikel Obi and Michael Essien were two members of the side fielded by Ancelotti who could reasonably expect to figure on the opening day of the new Premier League season.
Essien was also handed the captain's armband for the evening in John Terry's absence. The Ghanaian was the most senior player on view and, while a little off the pace, there was little sign that the injury to his left knee, suffered last December, had any lasting effects.
Ajax were taking the fixture far more seriously than Chelsea. They face Panathinaikos next week in a Champions League qualifier and the proximity of that date was a major reason why the board were so keen on retaining manager Martin Jol as Fulham tried to poach him.
However, Uruguay striker Luis Suarez was a surprise omission from their side. After a slow start, compounded by Turnbull's first error, Chelsea began to increase the pace, although chances were hard to come by.
But Sturridge again gave a glimpse of his talent when he seized upon the first half chance of the match that fell his way, just outside the area, in the 27th minute. The striker sent a low, left-foot drive beyond World Cup final keeper Stekelenburg. The Holland keeper then played a part in Ajax's second goal, though.
The Dutch side confirmed their overall dominance in the last minute of the game when Korean substitute Suk poked home from close range.

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Sun:

Ajax 3 Chelsea 1
From MARK IRWIN in Amsterdam
CARLO ANCELOTTI insists he is not in the market for a new keeper despite Ross Turnbull's Dutch disaster.
Turnbull, deputising for the injured Petr Cech, blew his chance to stake a claim for a start in Chelsea's Premier League opener by blundering for both of Ajax's first-half goals.
He was promptly hauled off at half-time as the Blues lost 3-1 to the Dutch giants, managed by Martin Jol after he finally turned down Fulham this week.
Cech has been ruled out for at least a month having torn his right calf muscle in training.
But boss Ancelotti insisted he always planned to play Henrique Hilario after the interval.
He said: "We just have to hope Cech recovers quickly. But we have two other goalkeepers and have to keep faith with them.
"Everyone could see Turnbull didn't have a good performance but that can happen to any young keeper and I still trust him."
Turnbull, 25, allowed Jeffrey Sarpong's sixth-minute cross to bounce inside his near post, then presented Siem de Jong with an open goal after failing to hold on to the ball as he slid out of his area.
Daniel Sturridge had brought Chelsea, who included fit-again Michael Essien, back into contention but Hyun Jun Suk confirmed Ajax's superiority with a last minute tap-in.

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