Welcome win pleases Blind

AFC Ajax leapt to second place in UEFA Champions League Group B with a comfortable 2-0 victory against FC Thun at the Amsterdam ArenA. Yannis Anastasiou justified his surprise inclusion with two goals in a dominant display by the Dutch side but Ajax coach Danny Blind was equally indebted to Maarten Stekelenburg, who made a crucial save to deny Mauro Lustrinelli with the scores finely poised at 1-0. He expects a harder game in the reverse fixture in a fortnight, while Thun coach Urs Schönberger was keen to emphasise his side's perfect home record in UEFA competition.

Danny Blind, Ajax coach
I'm very satisfied with the result. The aim was to get three points so we've succeeded. We played very well in the first 35 minutes, but Thun were still able to create two great opportunities. Even when Ajax led 1-0, the save from Stekelenburg at the start of the second half was very important. Don't underestimate Thun - they can play much better than they did tonight so the return in Switzerland is very important for us.

Urs Schönberger, Thun coach
We came for one point but didn't succeed because the players were overwhelmed by the stadium and the crowd. Although Ajax were the better team we had opportunities to take the lead but we failed and Ajax went in front and deserved to win. They played very well but we have never lost a European game at home so the return will be very interesting.

Yannis Anastasiou, Ajax striker
The team have been playing well for the past few weeks but we haven't been able to find the net. It felt great to score the first goal for the team. I haven't played much but I felt confident and really wasn't surprised I scored twice.