De Jong gives Ajax the upper hand in cup final

TWO early strikes within a minute of each other by Siem de Jong gave Ajax Amsterdam a 2-0 home win over Feyenoord in the first leg of the Dutch Cup final yesterday.

This year's final is being staged over two matches, without away fans, to nullify threats from rival groups. De Jong opened the scoring after six minutes and made it 2-0 with a volley. "We had a great start with two early goals but after that we lacked a bit of passion up front and were too sloppy in the final pass," said Ajax manager Martin Jol.