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Vurnon's Volley Good Show
Written by Newcastle Utd
His first goal for Newcastle was an absolute screamer and Vurnon Anita is grateful that he learned such technique at Ajax
By Dan King - Newcastle United Club Reporter
Dutch master Vurnon Anita revealed that Newcastle owe their continental comeback against Club Brugge to the famous Ajax youth academy.
The midfielder scored his first goal for the club at the Jan Breydel Stadion to breathe new life into the Magpies as they headed towards the half-time break two goals behind.
Two minutes later, Shola Ameobi netted to level the scores and send the travelling fans wild with delight and keep United top of Group D in the Europa League.
Anita's former side in Holland are going great guns themselves in the Champions League after two impressive displays against Manchester City in recent weeks and the 23-year-old is hoping that both Newcastle and Ajax can continue to make Europe sit up and take notice in their respective competitions.
And when asked if he'd learned the technique for his stunning volley from the legendary system which produced the likes of Johan Cruyff, Dennis Bergkamp, Marco van Basten and Patrick Kluivert, he smiled: "I think so, I think so.
"I'm happy with it. I hit the ball very well and I was keen that we fought back.
"I just wanted to shoot on goal. I hit it very, very good and went in. It was my first goal for Newcastle so I'm happy with that.
"We worked hard today to get one point and now we must finish it and go through to the next round.
"The second goal was also a great goal so we did it as a team and we must keep it going.
"The last two games (in the Europa League) have been good but we're not there yet. We must keep going and working hard."
United got off to a rotten start in Belgium as they found themselves with a mountain to climb inside the opening 20 minutes.
"We made two mistakes and they scored two goals, but as a team we are strong in our mentality," he said. "We kept on going and as you saw, we scored two goals in the first half."
And the Willemstad-born star admitted that the backing of the Toon Army, who travelled to Bruges in their thousands, inspired them to find a route back into the game.
"That was very nice, to see so many supporters of ours," he told nufc.co.uk.
"So a big thank you to them. I hope they keep on coming and we keep on giving them good football and good performances."
Man and boy, Anita spent 13 years at the Amsterdam ArenA before his summer move to St. James' Park and unsurprisingly, he still retains a strong affinity for de Godenzonen.
"It's nice to see that Ajax are doing very well and I'm happy with that," he said.
"And I'm happy with Newcastle also, that we're doing good, so it's a win-win situation."
Click here to buy a Newcastle United shirt with Anita's name and number on the back