FC Utrecht and Go Ahead Eagles balanced each other on Saturday evening. In Utrecht, Pascal Jansen’s team was the better, but the visitors managed to hold out until the final whistle: 0-0. The biggest chance was for Adrián Dalmau, who headed at the intersection in the final phase. The Domstedelingen (27 points) currently occupy fourth place in the Eredivisie, although number six Vitesse (26) and number seven FC Twente (25) will still be in action on Sunday.
Goalkeeper Maarten Paes was absent from FC Utrecht due to a minor injury. His honors were observed by Eric Oelschlägel. Gerrit Nauber was the most striking absentee at the Deventer club. The center defender called in sick prior to the meeting in the Galgenwaard and was replaced by Justin Bakker. In the first act, Utrecht was the dominant party, but it was difficult to force a breakthrough in the five-man defense of Go Ahead.
The first serious opportunity of the game was for Simon Gustafson, who hit the ball wrong and shot over after a cross by Hidde ter Avest. Moments later, goalkeeper Warner Hahn prevented a goal from the home team. Quinten Timber got space to shoot from a distance and made an excellent shot, but Hahn had a ditto save in the house. Go Ahead was well organized and handed out a few pin pricks for the break, but the visitors didn’t get any great opportunities.
In the second company, the away team had a good opportunity to score the opening goal. The chance belonged to Joris Kramer, who had to watch as Oelschlägel saved. In the remainder of the match, Utrecht was particularly dangerous, but Bart Ramselaar and Ter Avest, among others, failed to find the goal several times. Go Ahead escaped again in the 82nd minute. Adrián Dalmau nodded at close range at the intersection, after which Mike van der Maarel headed straight into Hahn’s hands from the rebound. The spell was never broken again.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ajax | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 46 | 36 |
| 2 | Feyenoord | 15 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 35 |
| 3 | PSV | 15 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 34 |
| 4 | FC Utrecht | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 27 |
| 5 | SC Cambuur | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | -6 | 27 |
| 6 | Vitesse | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | -2 | 26 |
| 7 | FC Twente | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 25 |
| 8 | AZ | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 23 |
| 9 | sc Heerenveen | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 21 |
| 10 | Go Ahead Eagles | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | -6 | 21 |
| 11 | NEC | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | -4 | 19 |
| 12 | Fc Groningen | 15 | 4 | 6 | 5 | -4 | 18 |
| 13 | William II | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | -14 | 18 |
| 14 | RKC Waalwijk | 15 | 3 | 6 | 6 | -7 | 15 |
| 15 | Heracles Almelo | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | -6 | 14 |
| 16 | Sparta Rotterdam | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 | -12 | 10 |
| 17 | Fortuna Sittard | 15 | 2 | 3 | 10 | -23 | 9 |
| 18 | PEC Zwolle | 15 | 1 | 3 | 11 | -19 | 6 |