Amsterdam steals a point from title favorites Vienna Kontinental

By: Drew Peacock

FC Amsterdam set up an entirely new system as they travelled to Austria to face undefeated Vienna Kontinental on matchday 14. Their captain, Jack David, opting to watch the first half from the bench, set the team up to be much more attacking. The last time these clubs met was in the FU League Cup, where Amsterdam came away victorious and advanced to the final. Vienna, even with Zagreb already securing the win this matchday, came out with an unchanged approach.

In the first half, the Amsterdam team came out enthusiastically with high energy and a heavy press. This is contrary to most matches for the Tulips, where they often sit back and try to kill off the entire first half of the game. In the 23rd minute, Amsterdam gave away a free kick in a dangerous position. Bradley Keetch stepped up to give the hosts the lead, but he was unable to beat the giant blue Afro of Pepe Lozano; the scored remained 0-0.

After about thirty minutes played, the Vienna team was able to get the momentum on their side, pinning Amsterdam in their own half. They were; however, unable to find a break through and the match stayed level into half-time.

During half-time, Amsterdam reset into a narrow 4-4-2 variant, hoping to keep their midfield secure and to hit Vienna on the counter. Vienna, feeling like they were the better side thus far, did not make any adjustments at half-time.

In the 58th minute, Max Jaxon was taken down hard by Ruben Jansen and, to the surprise of everyone watching, the player was not booked. In the 68th minute, the commentator's curse helped Vienna take the lead. Not even 30 seconds after the commentator suggested Amsterdam were pushing for the win, Vienna turned the ball over and Max Jaxon found Loørd Bendtner making a run into the box where he was able to calmly finish, giving his side the advantage, 1-0. However, the visitors were not ready to give up on getting something from the match yet.

As if the instructions were in the pre-match briefing, they quickly changed shape into a 3-1-3-3. The immediate change caught Vienna off guard, with Charlie Pawley sending Will O'Neill behind the Vienna defense, and there was no doubt he'd score from that position; all tied up 1-1. Thanks to some absolutely heroic defending from Amsterdam, especially Damon Nurse and Ruben Jansen, Amsterdam was able to see that the game ended 1-1.