De Boer: We deserved to lose

Ajax coach Frank de Boer said his men deserved what they got in Thursday’s 3-2 defeat to AZ in the Dutch Cup.

A brace from Ajax attacking midfielder Siem de Jong brace and goals from Maarten Martens and Charlison Benschop saw the sides go in level at half-time at the Amsterdam ArenA, before AZ were awarded a penalty when Toby Alderweireld was judged to have handled the ball inside the box on 54 minutes.

Rasmus Elm converted the ensuing spot kick to seal the victory for AZ in the replay, after the on-pitch attack on the Alkmaar-based side’s goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado forced the initial clash on January 21 to be abandoned.

De Boer said he felt AZ deserved to progress to the quarter-finals, but felt the penalty decision was a harsh one.

“The penalty was a bit severe, but we deserved to lose,” the former Ajax defender told reporters after the game.

“In the first half we were too anxious. After the break we were the better team until that goal came from nowhere. Then we stopped playing football. Maybe we got a bit of a fright because it was suddenly 3-2, it was certainly not good. It will be better Sunday when we meet them again.”

Ajax meet AZ on Sunday as the sides return to league action. The reigning Eredivisie champions, Ajax are five points behind league leaders AZ.