Level for all but seven minutes of the KNVB Cup final on Sunday evening, Vitesse were more than a match for the runaway Eredivisie leaders but their brief numerical disadvantage eventually told moments before the game went to extra-time.

David Neres struck that 91st-minute decider just four minutes after entering the fray, the Brazilian pouncing on a loose ball in the box to steer a smart finish into the far corner.

Vitesse, currently fourth in the Dutch top flight, were searching for just the second major trophy in their 129-year history. Their only previous triumph had come in the 2016/17 KNVB Cup as Matt Miazga and Lewis Baker helped them to a 2-0 victory against AZ Alkmaar.

Fast forward four years and there was the opportunity to repeat that remarkable feat, although an emphatic finish from the teenager Ryan Gravenberch fired Ajax in front midway through the first half in Rotterdam.

Yet Vitesse have demonstrated the courage of their convictions time and again this term as they push for their highest league finish since 2013 and Broja was at the heart of their equaliser on the half-hour mark.

The 19-year-old showed impressive strength to retain possession down the right flank and then kept his composure to roll a teasing delivery across the six-yard box and into the path of Lois Openda, who gobbled up the chance.

It was an assist rather than a goal for the top-scoring teenager in European football – who spoke to this website about that tag and his maiden loan in general at the weekend – but a significant contribution form the Albanian international nonetheless.

With 16 points separating the two sides in the league standings, it was always likely to prove an uphill battle for Vitesse and that challenge was exacerbated late on when Jacob Rasmussen was shown a red card. Within five minutes, the boys in yellow and black had conceded and with that went their chances of an improbable upset.