Napoli Primavera appeared to be heading for their first win of the UEFA Youth League after Leonardo Rossi scored his third of the competition. Instead, Napoli were eliminated after Jorrel Hato scored a late equalizer for 10-man Ajax.
Lineup
Nicolò Frustalupi made a number of changes to the squad he fielded in Napoli’s recent Primavera 1 fixture, as he had done in previous rounds.
(3-4-3) Turi; Giannini, Barba, D’Avino; Gioielli, Boni, Pontillo, Gningue; Rossi, Spavone, Russo
Match
This match was far more competitive than the first leg, which finished 5-1 in favour of Ajax. The two clubs exchanged chances at either end of the pitch, with Jeppe Kjær Jensen coming close for Ajax and Lorenzo Russo and Leonardo Rossi coming close for Napoli.
Napoli opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark, after Enrico Giannini used a sombrero to get past Raphaël Sarfo. Sarfo subsequently fouled Giannini in the area and Napoli were awarded a penalty kick. Rossi stepped up and sent de Graaff the other way, scoring his third goal of the competition.
Things went from bad to worse for Ajax. With a minute-and-a-half remaining before the break, Olaf Gorter caught Antonio Spavone late with his slide tackle, earning himself a yellow card. Gorter was already on a yellow for a tackle on Russo in the opening five minutes, so Ajax played the entire secong half with ten men.
With a slender lead and a man advantage, Frustalupi brought on a number of regular starters to see out the match, including Daniel Hysaj, Gennaro Iaccarino, Pasquale Marranzino and Davide Acampa.
The Azzurrini did well to contain the Ajax attack – the visitors managed only two shot attempts through the first three-quarters of the match. Meanwhile, Napoli continued to create (and squander) chances of their own. Rossi, Iaccarino and Acampa all came close to adding a second, but ultimately failed.
That proved to be costly. With only three minutes of normal time remaining, Ajax central defender and captain Jorrel Hato drove through the middle of the park, played a give and go with Jadon Banel and sidestepped Hysaj before picking the top corner at the near post.
That levelled the score at one with only a few minutes remaining. Napoli pushed forward in search of a second goal, but Ajax held on for the draw. With only one point through four matches, Napoli mathematically cannot advance from the group stage. Though disappointing, that may be a blessing in disguise for a club that has earned only six points through the first seven rounds in the Primavera 1 campaign.
The Azzurrini will be back in action on Sunday to take on Torino.
