AZ Alkmaar 2 (Van Galen 9, Meerdink 65) Shakhtar Donetsk 1 (Elano 67)
Attendance 8,000
The fairytale continues for AZ Alkmaar following tonight’s 2-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in Holland, a victory that ensures their qualification for the UEFA Cup quarter-finals.
This has been very much a dream season for Alkmaar,conquerors of Rangers in the group stages of the tournament, and still very much in the running for the Dutch Championship.
Driving rain greeted a capacity 8,000 attendance packing the tiny Alkmaarderhout ground, including 600 visiting fans that had travelled some 2,900km from the Ukraine – most of them all the way by road in a fleet of ten buses.
AZ, holding a 3-1 lead from the first leg, increased their advantage on aggregate with a barnstormer of a goal after just nine minutes thanks to a stunning effort from Barry van Galen, who curled a shot past Shakhtar goalkeeper Jan Lastuvka from some 15 metres.
Martijn Meerdink and Kenneth Perez then missed good chances to put the tie beyond doubt for the home side before the break and Lastuvka also tipped a Perez free kick over the bar.
The Ukrainians had humiliated Celtic in the Champions’ League in Donetsk, whilst desperately unlucky to lose at Celtic Park and in an effort to salvage something from their UEFA Cup campaign Coach Mircea Lucescu brought on all three substitutes to try to change the game in the second half - but after 65 minutes Meerdink, set up by Perez, doubled AZ's lead.
Two minutes later Elano pulled a goal back for the visitors but it was little more than a consolation for the Ukrainians.
With just five minutes left on the clock – and the game all over bar the shouting – a loudspeaker announcement to the home fans requested that they remain in the stadium at full-time to celebrate the victory with the players. Wonder what the ‘Subway Loyal would have made of it all – if in fact they had still been around at so late a time.
AZ are now unbeaten in eighteen home games this season, and must fancy their chances of going all the way this year as a farewell gift to departing Coach Co Adriaanse.