Joeri Heerkens endured another painful night for Jong Ajax on Monday. The goalkeeper was badly at fault for Jong FC Utrecht's opener and came in for a wave of criticism on social media. It got worse late on when Heerkens saw red for a clumsy challenge as Jong Ajax slumped to a 6-1 defeat.
After 12 minutes, Wessel Kooy headed a free-kick towards the Amsterdam goal. Heerkens looked set to deal with it comfortably, but let the ball slip through his hands and watched it cross the line: 1-0.
That latest error, after he had already made an error last month, caused a stir among Ajax supporters. "Another blunder. And he just keeps being picked," one post on X read, while another supporter drew a painful conclusion: "I do not see a future Ajax first-team keeper here."
Over on Ajax Showtime , there was no mercy either. "They'd be better off sending Heerkens back. He's nothing and will become nothing," wrote one supporter, while another wondered: "How many more blunders is he allowed to make?" Another fan was equally blunt: "Why is that guy even still in the starting XI?"
Part of that frustration comes from the fact Heerkens has already made several glaring mistakes earlier this season as well. At the start of August, he completely misjudged a shot from Martin Vetkal for Jong Ajax against FC Dordrecht. Just six days later, for the first team against FC Volendam, he had seen a back-pass from Youri Baas go into the net off him.
Jong Ajax swept aside as Heerkens sent off
After the break, Jong Ajax still looked vulnerable, even if the Amsterdam side offered more going forward. Jeshurun Simeon and Gerómino Spina both had chances to pull one back, but at the other end Jong FC Utrecht struck again through Björn Menzo, who beat Heerkens at his near post: 4-0.
Levi Acheampong then hit the bar and Simeon had an effort cleared off the line, before Emmanuel Chigozie Owen stretched the margin further with his second goal of the evening. Diego Pugno pulled one back for Jong Ajax with five minutes left after good work from Jano Monserrate, but the misery was not over.
In the closing stages, Heerkens made another glaring mistake when he kicked the ball against Massien Ghaddari, after which the 6-1 went in. Deep into stoppage time, the goalkeeper capped his miserable evening by handling the ball outside the penalty area and being shown red, meaning Jong Ajax finished the match with ten men.