November 09, (THEWILL) – Brighton and Hove Albion took a huge step towards Europa League qualification with an authoritative 2-0 victory away at Ajax. Goals from Ansu Fati and Simon Adingra gave the Seagulls a deserved win in Amsterdam, leaving them in pole position to progress from Group B in their maiden European campaign.
Despite Ajax’s brighter start, it was Brighton who opened the scoring against the run of play on 15 minutes. Ajax’s Silvano Vos surrendered possession cheaply to Adingra, who teed up Fati for a composed finish beyond Diant Ramaj. Roberto De Zerbi’s men remained largely untroubled for the rest of the first half before Adingra doubled their advantage early in the second period with a thunderous drive into the top corner.
The win follows on from Brighton’s 2-0 success against the Dutch giants at the Amex Stadium a fortnight ago. Since then, Ajax appointed a new manager in John van ‘t Schip and won twice domestically, but they rarely threatened to overturn the two-goal deficit.
Joao Pedro and Fati were both guilty of wasting presentable chances to extend Brighton’s lead further. The hosts’ best opportunity came when Brian Brobbey struck the woodwork 15 minutes from time, but it was a comfortable evening overall for the visitors.
The victory leaves Brighton five points clear of bottom-placed Ajax and needing just one win from their remaining two fixtures to progress. After making history by qualifying for Europe last season, they are now on the cusp of reaching the knockout stages in their first-ever continental campaign.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
