Ajax Women hammered Aktobe 8-0 in the first qualifying round finals of the UEFA Women's Champions League on Wednesday evening. The Dutch side never looked back after taking an early lead, with the result confirming the gap between the two teams. By then it was already clear this would be one-sided.
It started with a penalty. Sherida Spitse converted in the tenth minute after a foul in the box, and Aktobe's defence switched off at the back. Katja Snoeijs doubled the lead just two minutes later, running onto a through ball that split the centre-backs. The visitors couldn't recover their shape after that.
Ella Touon Mbenoun made it three in the thirty-third minute, finishing from close range after a corner was worked short. She added two more before half-time and after the break, finishing with a hat-trick. To be fair, she was always in the right place, and the movement of the other attackers kept creating space for her.
There were changes at the break. Mirte Koppen van, Sherida Spitse and Ayaka Kamimura came off together. Danielle Noordermeer added a fifth in the seventy-fourth minute, and Jade van Hensbergen sealed it with a penalty in the eightieth. Aktobe had yellow cards for Anastasia Vlasova and Assel Kubessova, and Sophie Brake te picked up the third.
The statistics tell the story. Ajax held 79 per cent possession and tested the keeper fifteen times, while Aktobe managed just one shot on target. There were ten corners against one, and the visitors could not string passes together. The support of the fans could be called devoted, but that is an assessment, not a fact.
This is the opening round, and the goal difference of eight says everything. Ajax advanced with authority, while Aktobe have work to do before the next stage. The old head settled them down in the second half, but the damage was already done.
