Calvin Bassey helps Ajax edge Volendam in 9-goal friendly thriller

Calvin Bassey's price tag has been criticised by Wesley Sneijder

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Super Eagles and Ajax defender Calvin Bassey

Calvin Bassey helps Ajax edge Volendam in 9-goal friendly thriller

David Ben 14:55 - 07.12.2022

The Super Eagles defender shone for the Amsterdam giants in their comeback win from three goals down against Volendam in a club friendly on Wednesday.

Ajax defeated Volendam 4-5 in a club friendly on Wednesday afternoon, November 7, 2022.

The Eredivisie champions came back in spectacular fashion to claim the win having put up a horror show in the first 45 minutes.

Ajax started the game in disastrous fashion after an error allowed Gaetano Oristanio come face to face with goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg after a beautiful pass in the 7th minute.

Oristanio fired past Stekelenburg to give Volendam a 0-1 lead early in the game.

Ajax boasted a lot of possession, but failed to make good use of their opportunities as they went into the break trailing at half-time.

 

After the break, Ajax soon found themselves trailing once more as FC Volendam substitute Joey Antonioli shot the visitors to a shock 0-2 lead in the 46th minute.

Alfred Schreuder’s men had to deal with another blow as Volendam soon extended their lead as Brian Plat managed to make it 0-3 to the visitors three minutes later.

However, the Amsterdammers soon pulled a goal back to begin their comeback journey in the 56th minute for the first time.

Sixteen-year-old substitute Jorrel Hato fired home to make it 3-1, Brian Brobbey found Francisco Conceição in the 58th minute to bring Ajax back into the contest and put the scores at 2-3.

Brobbey would himself complete the comeback in the 65th minute firing home from close range after a nice combination of passes in Volendam’s box.

Following Ajax's equalizer, the hosts would take the lead for the first time in the game with Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey finding Conceição again, with the winger firing home to give the Amsterdammers a 4-3 lead in the 69th minute.

However, Bassey was soon found wanting after Antonioli intercepted a pass from him and then coolly slotted it past Stekelenburg to level matters in the 74th minute.

However, with fifteen minutes to go, the hosts were just too much for their opponents as Brian Brobbey grabbed the winner in the 90th minute in stoppage time to give Ajax a deserved 5-4 win against Volendam.

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Calvin Bassey stars for Ajax in 5-4 friendly win against Volendam.

Calvin Bassey
Calvin Bassey Calvin Bassey

The 22-year-old Super Eagles defender started the game for the Dutch champions on Wednesday playing the full 90 minutes.

Although, he was partly responsible for Volendam’s leveller in the second half, Bassey gave a good showing of himself generally registering an assist fourth goal of the afternoon.

The Nigerian international did not feature at the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar this November having failed to qualify with the Super Eagles.

Bassey is expected to return for Ajax against NEC Nijmegen in the new year on January 8, 2023 in the Dutch Eredivisie.

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