RKC has enforcement in its own hands after a whirlwind first half


Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 9:56 PM• Jordi Tomasowa • Last update: 22:01

RKC Waalwijk did excellent business on Sunday evening in the battle for self-preservation. In front of their own audience, coach Joseph Oosting’s team won convincingly 3-1 against FC Groningen. Due to the victory, RKC is the new number fourteen and the Waalwijkers come to 31 points from as many duels. The gap with PEC Zwolle, which is currently sixteenth, is currently five points. At the same time, with the defeat, Groningen keeps the battle for a playoff ticket for European football exciting.

Due to the defeats of Fortuna Sittard, PEC Zwolle and Willem II, RKC knew that good business could be done against FC Groningen in the blood-curdling fight against relegation. The Waalwijkers played against FC Groningen in special shirts to raise money. The uniforms are in collaboration with Villa Pardoes, with which seriously ill children can enjoy a holiday with their family. Playing in the special shirt for a good cause, RKC clearly did well, because the team of trainer Joseph Oosting wiped the floor with FC Groningen in the first company.

With fifteen minutes on the clock, the home team scored a goal by Damil Dankerlui, who briefly played a ball back to goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh. Finn Stokkers was able to intercept and easily round past FC Groningen’s closing post: 1-0. The striker was only accurate once in the Eredivisie this season, but increased his total to three halfway through the first half by signing for the second goal of the evening. Bart van Hintum went under a low ball from Ahmed Touba, after which Michiel Kramer only had to put wide on Stokkers. It was then a breeze for the striker to slide the ball into the empty goal.

Groningen seemed to need some time to recover from the next blow. That the Pride of the North Missing the excellent chance of the connecting goal via Jörgen Strand Larsen and Michael de Leeuw did not help. Strand Larsen appeared to outwit Etienne Vaessen who had come out with a lob and then saw De Leeuw head under the ball, after which the toy ended up against the post. The missed opportunity was fatal for the visitors before half time, when Richard van der Venne escaped the attention of the defense and beautifully shot the ball over Leeuwenburgh from outside the penalty area: 3-0.

Danny Buijs knew that something had to change after the break and therefore made a triple substitution. The changes had the desired effect early in the second half, after Strand Larsen was served by Cyril Ngonge after a smooth attack: 3-1. The goal by the Norwegian club top scorer, however, did not give any credence to a good result, because Groningen – except for a push from Romano Postema – did not succeed in creating serious opportunities in the remainder of the second half.

No. Team m W G V † Pnt
1 Ajax 31 25 3 3 74 78
2 PSV 31 24 2 5 42 74
3 Feyenoord 31 21 4 6 42 67
4 FC Twente 31 18 8 5 15 62
5 AZ 31 18 5 8 22 59
6 Vitesse 31 14 5 12 -9 47
7 FC Utrecht 31 12 9 10 8 45
8 Fc Groningen 31 9 9 13 -9 36
9 Go Ahead Eagles 31 10 6 15 -10 36
10 sc Heerenveen 31 9 8 14 -11 35
11 NEC 31 9 8 14 -13 35
12 Heracles Almelo 31 9 7 15 -10 34
13 SC Cambuur 31 10 4 17 -18 34
14 RKC Waalwijk 31 7 10 14 -15 31
15 Fortuna Sittard 31 8 5 18 -32 29
16 PEC Zwolle 31 7 5 19 -23 26
17 Sparta Rotterdam 31 5 11 15 -23 26
18 William II 31 7 5 19 -30 26