De Graafschap successfully passed its first of many tough tests in April on Sunday afternoon. The team of trainer Mike Snoei had the better chances at home against Go Ahead Eagles and rewarded itself after an hour of play, when Jesse Schuurman scored 1-0 for his first goal ever in the Kitchen Champion Division. In the hunt for second place, De Graafschap puts the full pressure on competitors Almere City and NAC Breda, who are now both following on four points. At Go Ahead Eagles, captain Jeroen Veldmate left the field by stretcher in injury time after an apparently serious knee injury.
Both teams could count on the support of their supporters on Sunday-morning before the game. For example, the fans of Go Ahead waved off the players’ bus with fireworks and supporters of De Graafschap showed a large banner. Remarkably enough, the home team started without the much-discussed Ralf Seuntjens, who was kept on the bench by Snoei for the second game in a row. The game on the Vijverberg had a not very exciting first half, in which De Graafschap thought it would take the lead. Ted van de Pavert worked the ball behind Jay Gorter halfway through the first act, but saw how Toine van Huizen committed a foul in the run-up to the goal.
Go Ahead, which is known this season for its strong defensive organization, limited itself to defending before half-time, without really getting into trouble for Kees van Wonderen’s team. The only time De Graafschap became dangerous was via Joey Konings, who shot right past the left post after half an hour of play. De Graafschap also caused the greatest threat in the second half, as Jasper van Heertum attacked Gorter’s goal early on. The defender steamed up to the right and tried with a hard shot into the short corner, but saw his bet go a meter wide.
After an hour of play, Schuurman managed to find the net. The midfielder was served by Johnatan Opoku, controlled the ball and then found the top left corner: 1-0. Just before that, Giannis Botos had an imposed chance to give Go Ahead the lead, but he ran into goalkeeper Rody de Boer from close by after some good preparatory work by Jacob Mulenga. Go Ahead went on the hunt for the equalizer and came very close, when Wout Droste had to finish in a promising position. The right back, however, gave in and thus killed a great opportunity. To make matters worse, Go Ahead also lost its captain in injury time. Veldmate ended up wrong after an aerial duel and seemed to seriously injure his knee.
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