Amsterdam football club Ajax has reached the quarter finals of the KNVB Cup for the first time since 2014 but had great difficulty beating Roda JC to do so.

The first division side held the Amsterdammers to a 1-1 draw after extra time, forcing a penalty decider. That too was a nail-biter, after Roda players missed the first two, as did ‘Golden Boy’ Matthijs de Ligt for Ajax. However, Daley Blind put his away, giving Ajax the game.

Ajax coach Erik ten Hag said after the match he was disappointed at the way his team had won, but it was the result that mattered. ‘We did not put in much speed and we did not show much creativity,’ he said.

The last round of 16 matches take place on Thursday evening.