Ajax ease past Shelbourne, but fail to put the tie to bed already | Goal.com

Published on 06 Aug 2026 | Reading time: 2 minutes

Ajax laid a solid foundation for a place in the Conference League play-offs in the first leg against Shelbourne FC. The Amsterdam club dominated from kick-off and raced into a commanding 3-0 lead, but gifted away an unnecessary goal in the closing stages to leave it 3-1. The return in Ireland is next Thursday.

Strikingly, Míchel left virtually all of his summer signings on the bench from the start. Maarten Paes got the nod in goal ahead of new arrival Marc ter Stegen, while Julian Brandt, Caio Henrique, Marcos Leonardo and Tolu Arokodare all started among the substitutes. Anton Gaaei also came in for Lucas Rosa at right-back, and Mika Godts kept his place despite his personal agreement with Paris Saint-Germain. Brandt made his official debut in an Ajax shirt off the bench.

From kick-off, Ajax went straight on the front foot and won a penalty within a few minutes. Godts went down in the area under a challenge from Ali Coote and, although the referee initially waved play on, he pointed to the spot after a VAR check.

Godts took it himself and calmly sent the penalty straight down the middle in the sixth minute to make it 1-0. Shelbourne then dropped deep in numbers, but could not hold off the Amsterdam attacks for long.

On 20 minutes, Wijndal was just unable to get a shot away after a through ball from Steven Berghuis, but two minutes later Ajax had their second. Berghuis again picked out Wijndal with an excellent long pass, and the defender controlled it brilliantly in the area before finishing with his right foot while falling: 2-0.

Ajax stayed in control and carved out a big chance for a third through Oscar Gloukh. The midfielder was picked out after a move down the left, but his tame effort barely troubled goalkeeper Conor Beach. Just before the break, Wijndal then fired over from a Gaaei cross.

Early in the second half, Ajax struck again. In the 50th minute, Berghuis whipped in an inswinging cross from the right and Dolberg got across his marker with a clever run before poking home from close range past Beach: 3-0.

Moments later, Godts had the chance to grab his second of the night from 12 yards after a Shelbourne defender handled the ball. He hit the penalty tamely and Beach kept it out.

Leonardo then had several chances to score his first Ajax goal, but the Brazilian fired wide three times. Shelbourne unexpectedly pulled one back in the 84th minute when Paes first saved Coote's shot, only for Kelly to convert the rebound and make it 3-1.

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