The final match before the winter break carried with it the weight of redemption and the promise of vindication. Ajax, the most successful club in Dutch football history, were coming to the Stadion Galgenwaard with their own title ambitions intact. For Utrecht, it was a chance to respond to the disappointment of the PSV defeat in the most emphatic way possible.
The atmosphere in Utrecht was electric in the days leading up to the match. The city had embraced this team with a passion that bordered on obsession, and the prospect of beating Ajax - Ajax! - at home had captured the imagination of every supporter. Tickets had sold out within hours, and the black market prices were astronomical.
