Fortuna Sittard suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat at home to Ajax in the Eredivisie on Saturday evening. The match was defined by a historic full debut from Ajax defender Thilo Kehrer, who scored and provided an assist.
Julian Brandt opened the scoring for the visitors after 35 minutes. Fortuna Sittard equalised shortly after halftime through Anthony Descotte in the 52nd minute. Kehrer headed Ajax back in front with twenty minutes remaining. His assist for Davy Klaassen eleven minutes later sealed the victory, before further goals from Kasper Dolberg and Youri Baas.
Kehrer thus became the first Ajax defender this century to be directly involved in two goals on his first Eredivisie start. "I'm happy for the performance, the goal, and the assist," the German told reporters afterwards. "But the most important thing is that the team won." He had played only eight minutes off the bench the previous week and took a heavy hit late in the first half.
For Fortuna Sittard, this marks a second home defeat of the season, following the 0-2 loss to AZ Alkmaar. Danny Buijs's side remains sixth in the table with 13 points from seven games, but their goal difference has now slipped to minus one. Recent form has been mixed with three wins and two losses in the last five matches.
The Fortuna Sittard squad must now focus on the next fixture, a home game against fourth-placed FC Twente on October 10. The full squad list and upcoming fixtures are available here. The loss to Ajax interrupts a run that included wins over Willem II, ADO Den Haag and FC Groningen.
Background and full detail: goal.com
