Suárez pulls the sting from Slavia's tail

A last-minute Luis Suárez penalty denied SK Slavia Praha a first Group F win as AFC Ajax found the eliminated Czech side a tough proposition in Amsterdam.

Late penalty
Ajax went ahead through Jan Vertonghen but Jaroslav Černý and Marek Jarolím hit back before Suárez converted a penalty in added time to seal the draw which, combined with Aston Villa FC's 3-1 defeat at Hamburger SV, ensured that Ajax finished second in the section. They will therefore face one of the sides that finished third in the UEFA Champions League groups in the Round of 32.

Caught cold
Marco van Basten made only one change from the Ajax side that beat NAC Breda at the weekend with Vurnon Anita replacing the injured Rasmus Lindgren. Slavia had to do without the suspended Martin Vaniak, and having not played since their 2-0 defeat against Hamburg a fortnight ago, were caught cold as Vertonghen rose to head Miralem Sulejmani's inswinging corner into the net after four minutes.

Slavia double
Suárez then went close with two chances but the visitors levelled through Cerný, who finished with his right foot following good work down the right from Matej Krajčík. The hosts applied some pressure afterwards but it was Slavia who took the lead four minutes before the interval when Jarolím picked up a Krajčík pass to drive past Kenneth Vermeer.

Šenkeřík misses
Sulejmani's corners caused Slavia problems after the break and Thomas Vermaelen almost equalised soon after the hour but his header went just over. Zdeněk Šenkeřík had a chance to put the game beyond doubt for Slavia ten minutes later but his effort was brilliantly saved by Vermeer, and he put a Milan Ivana cross over the bar later. Those misses proved costly as Krajčík fouled Suárez in the box, with the Uruguayan stepping up to convert the resulting penalty.