After a very exciting duel between NEC and sc Heerenveen, the Frisians have come out on top. This is largely due to Jasper Cillessen, who incomprehensibly let the 2-3 roll into his goal just before time. In a wonderful match, Thom Haye took the Frisian lead, but the home team recovered and took the lead through Magnus Mattsson and Landry Dimata. In the final phase Sydney van Hooijdonk still tapped the 2-2 against the ropes. Heerenveen still won in the final phase after Cillessen’s incredible heretic.
Compared to the remainder of the duel with FC Groningen (0-1 win), NEC coach Rogier Meijer made one change. Oussama Tannane was fit again and so a place in the 10th position was immediately reserved for him. That was at the expense of Jordi Bruijn, who scored the winning goal against Groningen. On the side of Heerenveen, there were no changes compared to the 2-3 defeat against FC Emmen. This meant, among other things, that top scorer Van Hooijdonk was given another opportunity to work on his season total.
?? Thom Haye curls the free kick beautifully into the top corner! ??#nechee pic.twitter.com/iMlq4W0Gnb
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) May 6, 2023
After half an hour of play, Heerenveen got a free kick about twenty meters from goal. Haye stood behind the ball and curled the ball wonderfully behind the hopeless Cillessen: 0-1. The midfielder clearly gained confidence from his goal and tried with a shot from about the halfway line, but Cillessen was not fooled. On the other hand, Tannane still showed excellent kicking technique. The midfielder forced Xavier Mous to make an excellent save.
It was still hit from the ensuing corner kick. A corner from Tannane hit the head of Iván Márquez, who enabled Mattsson to tap in at the far post: 1-1. Just before the break, Elayis Tavsan should have made it 2-1. However, the youth international took too long to complete his action, so that the defense of Heerenveen could intervene: opportunity lost.
Bart van Rooij created the first danger after the break. However, the right back did not make it too difficult for Mous. Shortly after the substitution of Tannane, who was not too happy with that, NEC still took the lead. After a smooth attack on the left, Souffian passed El Karouani to Dimata, who trumped Mous at the near post: 2-1. NEC was the parent, but was allowed to thank Cillessen fifteen minutes before the end. The the Dutch-international turned nicely from close range on an attempt by Osame Sahraoui.
Blunder of Jasper Cillessen’s season? ??#nechee pic.twitter.com/k1xfo36yjy
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) May 6, 2023
In a promising position, Bruijn shot on the crossbar on the other side. However, Heerenveen did not give up and received a free kick in a promising position. Of course Haye went behind the ball, but this time he had to acknowledge his superior in Cillessen. Yet moments later it was still 2-2. Sahraoui easily got rid of Van Rooij and gave way to Van Hooijdonk, who simply tapped in. In the final phase, Cillessen made a horrific mistake. The goalkeeper thought the ball would go wide, but was completely wrong and saw Antoine Colassin’s ‘bet’ roll in via the post: 2-3.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | v | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feyenoord | 30 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 45 | 73 |
| 2 | PSV | 31 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 47 | 68 |
| 3 | Ajax | 30 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 47 | 62 |
| 4 | AZ | 30 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 27 | 60 |
| 5 | Sparta Rotterdam | 31 | 15 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 53 |
| 6 | FC Twente | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 25 | 52 |
| 7 | FC Utrecht | 31 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 48 |
| 8 | RKC Waalwijk | 31 | 11 | 8 | 12 | -3 | 41 |
| 9 | NEC | 30 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 38 |
| 10 | sc Heerenveen | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | -9 | 38 |
| 11 | Go Ahead Eagles | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | -8 | 36 |
| 12 | Fortuna Sittard | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | -21 | 32 |
| 13 | Vitesse | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | -12 | 31 |
| 14 | FC Volendam | 31 | 8 | 6 | 17 | -28 | 30 |
| 15 | FC Emmen | 30 | 6 | 10 | 14 | -22 | 28 |
| 16 | Excelsior | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | -39 | 28 |
| 17 | Fc Groningen | 30 | 4 | 5 | 21 | -32 | 17 |
| 18 | SC Cambuur | 31 | 4 | 4 | 23 | -42 | 16 |