MANCHESTER UNITED target Erik ten Hag will not leave Ajax fans with the dream triple double he craved after PSV came from behind to win the Dutch KNVB Cup.
The Dutchman cut a lonely figure as he stood, hands-in-pockets, on the pitch at full-time as PSV celebrated wildly in front of their fans.
Erik ten Hag waves at the Ajax fans ahead of the KNVB Cup finalCredit: Getty
At full-time he led his players to salute their support but only the most loyal fans remained to applaud their beaten heroes and he was met by rows of empty seats – United style!
Despite Ryan Gravenberch giving Ajax the lead, their great rivals hit back with two goals in less than two minutes after the break to wreck Ten Hag’s evening.
He is still in pole position to gain revenge over PSV who they lead in the title race by four points with five games remaining.
Then the odds are he will be heading for Manchester where a much bigger headache awaits him.
Gerry Hamstra CONFIRMS Ten Hag appointment, Pogba responds to critics
Ten Hag made a huge pre-match call which proved he isn’t scared to take high-risk decisions – even in a cup final.
How many managers would drop their top scorer – let alone the Eredivisie’s runaway top scorer – and replace him with a 20-year-old kid for such a showpiece occasion?
Sebastien Haller had his troubles at West Ham but he’s been Ajax’s go-to-man for goals, bagging an impressive 32 in 40 appearances.
Haller also leads the Eredivisie scoring chart by five goals and scored four in one memorable Champions’ League night against Sporting Lisbon.
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)
Yet Manchester United’s boss-in-waiting ruthlessly axed one of his own for the final.
Ten Hag helped rear Haller at Utrecht and rescued him from his Hammers hell, splashing out £20million to make him his record buy for Ajax.
But he feared his frontline lacked pace, so Brobbey was brought in and ETH controversially benched golden boy Haller.
In the end it blew up in his face but initially it paid off.
Scared of Brobbey’s blistering speed, PSV’s defence weren’t able to squeeze up, as they would have against one-paced Haller.
They dropped deeper leaving space in front of them for Ajax to exploit and it paid off midway through the first half.
Ryan Gravenberch had room to work in and exchanged passes with Davy Klaasen before finding the far corner from the edge of the box to fire Ajax in front.
Ten Hag, clad in dark jeans, white shirt, navy jacket and trainers, clenched his fists in front of him in a subdued celebration.
Arsenal target Cody Gakpo fires in PSV’s secondCredit: Getty
But for the 52-year-old that was his equivalent of a Jose Mourinho touchline run and knee-slide!
PSV were reeling and Ajax almost doubled their lead on half-time when right-back Noussair Mazraoui exploited the same space to drill a 25 yarder beyond Mvogo.
But Dusan Tadic had strayed offside in the build-up and VAR ruled it out.
Relieved at their let-off, PSV regrouped at the break and came out swinging – scoring twice in 90 seconds to take a 2-1 lead against a startled Ajax.
Three minutes after the break a routine saw Cody Gakpo flick the ball on and Erick Gutierrez beat Maarten Stekelenburg with a diving header.
Seconds later PSV fans went wild again when Arsenal target Gakpo unleashed a low shot from 25 yards which flew past a sea of legs and beat the unsighted Stekelenburg.
It was a double-whammy Ajax never recovered from, despite Ten Hag making four second-half substitutions – sending on Haller with 20 minutes to go.
PSV lifted the KNVB Cup, ending Ajax’s hopes of a triple doubleCredit: Getty
Ajax responded and Davy Klassen thought he had equalised after 56 minutes after Brobbey set him up, but VAR showed the kid’s back-foot was a stud-length offside.
Then Tadic beat Mvogo but the ball crashed back off the base of the post.
And there was to be no Fergie-time comeback for Manchester United’s incoming boss.
