The crowd at the UEFA Cup 1/8 finals between Ajax and Marseille had to remain in the stadium a little longer than planned after the encounter ended with a 2:1 victory for the Dutch, forcing an overtime during which English right-back Tyrone Mears (pictured center) scored the winner, to put Marseille through to the quarter-finals on a 4:3 win on aggregate.
Ajax midfielder Eyong Enoh opened the score in the 33rd minute, but jubilation was short lived for the team from Amsterdam as Senegalese international Mamadou Niang netted the equalizer just two minutes later. Niang’s rating continues to rise; he now has 112.98 points, just behind Jimmy Briand (126.83 points) and Karim Benzema (118.49 points) in the list of best players of the French league.
Miralem Sulejmani was able to send the game into overtime. But at the 110th minute, Tyron Mears, who until then had a negative rating, headed in the important equalizer.
Mears still has just 11.12 points, but there is no doubt he was instrumental in his side’s performance in the game. Despite the 2:2 draw, Marseille advanced into the quarter-finals thanks to a 2:1 victory in the first leg.
© FTBL