Gil Vicente’s Conference League campaign all but over after a 4-0 defeat in Alkmaar
Gil Vicente suffered a 4-0 defeat by AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League play-off first leg. The Gilistas were 1-0 down with 15 minutes to go before a late surrender all but ended their chances of a draw.
A firm header from Dani de Wit gave AZ a deserved lead at half-time, with Mayckel Lahdo, Vangelis Pavlidis and Mees de Wit completing the defeat late.
Ivo Vieira’s side never looked set to score in the Netherlands and have little chance of closing the gap in Barcelos next week.
one way street
AZ Alkmaar established their dominance early on as the Dutch club constantly probed in and around Gil Vicente’s box.
Gil Vicente’s rare forays into the last third often resulted in abandoned games, while AZ defenders easily dealt with threats from Ali Alipour and Élder Santana.
The breakthrough came in the 24th minute when Milos Kerkez’s measured cross found Dani de Wit, who landed in front of Henrique Gomes and put his header into the net.
AZ seemed content to let the Portuguese have the ball because there was simply no penetration. Danilo Veiga came forward, but his passes often went wide of the goal or found teammates who couldn’t control the ball.
The game heated up just before half-time as Kerkez faced Kanya Fujimoto late on and left-back was booked alongside Sam Beukema and Henrique Gomes.
Gil Vicente perseveres
In the second half, Gil Vicente made things even worse when Giorgi Aburjania’s free-kick sailed over the bar.
Myron van Brederode showed a real handful on the left wing, dominating Viega and forcing a caution for Aburjania for preventing the 19-year-old winger from breaking away.
AZ built up the pressure, Tijjani Reijnders played a clean 1-2 with Dani de Wit, which forced Andrew to make an intelligent save.
Ivo Vieira tried to turn the tide in the 61st minute when Matheus Bueno and Kevin Villodres came on for Aburjania and Santana.
Gil Vicente seemed content to put men behind the ball and stay a goal down, a dangerous tactic that saw AZ smell blood in the water and the crowd started firing.
Pascal Jansen made his first two substitutions in the 72nd minute when Milos Kerkez and Myron van Brederode made way for Mees de Wit and Mayckel Lahdo.
Vangelis Pavlidis saw a shot from close range following a shocking rally from Bueno but the Dutch didn’t have to wait long for another chance to double their lead.
late attack
The goal came in the 78th minute and Hakon Evjen’s dangerous cross was cleared off the post by Lucas Cunha, who came on for Tomás Araújo less than 60 seconds earlier, and the ball went straight to Lahdo, who cleaned from close range.
Andrew came off his line to take Pavlidis’ ball a yard from inside his 18-yard box, but the Greek striker was unstoppable. Viega’s poor pass was intercepted by Reijnders, who fed Pavlidis, who charged into the box and penetrated two defenders before firing past the Brazilian goalkeeper.
As if that 3-0 wasn’t bad enough, Gil Vicente’s surrender was complete in the 89th minute when the tie was out of reach. A routine 2-1 draw between Reijnders and Yukinari Sugawara saw Sugawara’s cross find an unmarked Mees de Wit at the back post.
Disappointment for Ivo Vieira
Ivo Vieira gave three players their first starts of the season; Tomás Araujo, Giorgi Aburjania, and Elder Santana. Araújo and Santana made their debuts after Aburjania came on as a 22-minute substitute in the second leg against Riga.
The lack of cohesion was apparent throughout but Vieira and his side would have been content to return 1-0 down at Barcelos. It will be difficult to convince his side that they can close the 4-0 deficit in Barcelos.
In the end, AZ’s 4-0 win isn’t that surprising. The Dutch club ended last season with a 6-1 win over Vitesse and defeated Dundee United 7-0 in their last game in Alkmaar.
Through Matthew Marshall