Jong Ajax beat Helmond Sport 3-2 in the Eerste Divisie on Friday evening, a match that swung between momentum and frustration. The result keeps the young Amsterdam side within touching distance of mid-table safety, though they remain fifteenth with just four points from five games. Helmond, meanwhile, sit eighteenth and have now drawn twice and lost twice in four outings.
And here's the thing about this one — it started at pace. Pharrel Nash opened the scoring in the twelfth minute, and Emre Ünüvar doubled the lead just two minutes later. Brian Koglin pulled one back for the visitors in the eighteenth, but the hosts were already building something. By then, the pattern was clear: Ajax would control territory, Helmond would look to hit.
Sem Dekkers restored the two-goal cushion in the fifty-sixth minute, but Diego Pugno's strike in the sixty-fourth sealed it. The visitors had their chances, particularly from inside the penalty area — nine shots there compared to Ajax's seven — but the accuracy simply wasn't there. Three shots on target for Helmond against nine for the hosts told the story of a side that pressed but could not finish.
To be fair, Helmond did not lack effort. They committed 13 fouls to Ajax's 11, and their goalkeeper made six saves compared to just one. But possession tells you where the game lived: Ajax had 59 per cent, completed 458 passes out of 528, and registered 108 attacks. Helmond managed 86 attacks and 290 successful passes from 366 attempts. The difference was in the final third.
The substitutions came thick and fast after the hour mark, with Ajax bringing on Kiton Ekoli in the sixty-second minute and then four changes around the seventy-fourth. Helmond responded with Ryan van de Pavert and Michel Ludwig, while Jano Monserrate and Diego Pugno were also brought off late. The match saw three yellow cards — Wassim Lantaki and Jano Monserrate booked, plus Levi Acheampong in stoppage time — but no reds.
What it means is simple: Jong Ajax have avoided a poor start to the campaign, though one win from five does not scream confidence. They lost 2-3 to NAC Breda, drew 4-6 with Emmen, and beat Dordrecht 2-1 before that. Helmond's draw at Waalwijk and loss to Roda JC suggest they need to find consistency. The gap between them sits at two points, and in this division, that is nothing.
