Substitutes help Ajax to difficult opening weekend win against 10-man PEC Zwolle

[p]Amidst nagging rumours of a move to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/psg/CjhkPw0k/"]Paris Saint-Germain[/a], star winger [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/godts-mika/CIrbY1Ml/"]Mika Godts[/a] was a last-minute omission from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ajax/8UOvIwnb/"]Ajax[/a]'s starting XI as he [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/news/agent-confirms-mika-godts-absence-has-nothing-to-do-with-psg-negotiations/KfbelfXj/"]did not feel fit enough to start[/a]. 17-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ouazane-abdellah/SGcSVy7E/"]Abdellah Ouazane[/a] was handed his Eredivisie debut, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a] loanee [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ter-stegen-marc-andre/byxc46yl/"]Marc ter Stegen[/a] and former [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/monaco/2PIvr8o4/"]Monaco[/a] back [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/caio-henrique/dr5D8pxI/"]Caio Henrique[/a] were also given their maiden starts.[/p][p]Ajax dominated most of the opening half hour, creating a handful of chances and testing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/schendelaar-jasper/S4xoPmv4/"]Jesper Schendelaar[/a] via Ouazane, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/berghuis-steven/8vVtUw90/"]Steven Berghuis[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dolberg-kasper/C8C5vSB8/"]Kasper Dolberg[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bouwman-aaron/rRxXBjM5/"]Aaron Bouwman[/a], but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sanchez-michel/CYSLRQ77/"]Michel Sanchez[/a]'s team failed to find a quick breakthrough.[/p][embed guid="2b09cfae-37c1-4a51-99e4-95fb4151280d" url="https://x.com/ESPNnl/status/2086437268449828902?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Ter Stegen proved his worth 34 minutes into his debut when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sommer-tobias/K8m9Dd0J/"]Tobias Sommer[/a] was given a free header from four yards out, but the Dane was held from scoring by a superb reflex from the German goalkeeper.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/zwolle/r1L5w2EB/"]PEC Zwolle[/a] were reduced to ten men with over 30 minutes remaining after a reckless challenge from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/floranus-sheral/lURzLW93/"]Sherel Floranus[/a], who comes in from behind and plants his studs in the calf of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rosa-lucas/2g3Pa3qH/"]Lucas Rosa[/a], resulting in a swift red card.[/p][p]With the likes of Mika Godts, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/brandt-julian/hW5Goyrc/"]Julian Brandt[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/marcos-leonardo/OW4BpjD0/"]Marcos Leonardo[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arokodare-toluwalase/4IsrUYg1/"]Tolu Arokodare[/a] on the pitch in the last half hour, Ajax hardly upped the pressure and still couldn't muster many big chances, letting the match become a race against the clock.[/p][embed guid="fe0164d0-f8c8-4dcc-9f63-4a1ea294864c" url="https://x.com/ESPNnl/status/2086457797537927646?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]The presence of the 1.97m-tall Arokodare made an immediate difference - the Nigerian striker controlled and laid off a cross from Lucas Rosa, giving [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mokio-jorthy/lQdp4JnH/"]Jorthy Mokio[/a] a perfect opportunity to fire it past Jesper Schendelaar in the 77th minute.[/b][/p][p][b]It wasn't smooth sailing for Ajax towards the final whistle, with PEC Zwolle boldly taking over control and piling pressure onto Ajax. But instead, it was Julian Brandt who capped off a smooth, overpowering attack from Ajax to seal the deal in the 95th minute.[/b][/p][p]The Amsterdam side held on, securing an opening-weekend victory ahead of their second leg in the UEFA Conference League third-round qualifiers.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/ajax-8UOvIwnb/zwolle-r1L5w2EB/?mid=hSeEuvR0"]Check the full match statistics on Flashscore[/a][/b][/p][image alt="Key match stats" id="ece17df0-9df9-4349-ae3d-6a7839e49260" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="16aa3992-984f-41f0-bb17-fba7d143505a" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /]