Sparta Rotterdam and FC Groningen balanced each other on Sunday afternoon. At Het Kasteel, the two low-flyers of the Eredivisie did not get further than a 1-1 draw. Both goals came before half time. The visitors took the lead via Cyril Ngonge, after which Bryan Smeets scored the equalizer a few minutes later.
The game was just under half an hour old when Mohamed El Hankouri accelerated on the left flank. Sparta defender Dirk Abels did not intervene and allowed a low cross towards the penalty area. El Hankouri found the completely detached Ngonge, for whom it was a breeze to shoot the 0-1 behind Sparta keeper Maduka Okoye. Ngonge signed with his fifth of the season for a jubilee goal: it was FC Groningen’s two thousandth goal in the Eredivisie. The lead was not undeserved. The visitors showed the most initiation, after Sparta opened strongly. In the opening phase, the home team missed two chances.
Sparta’s answer was not long in coming. Five minutes after the opening goal, the score was leveled by Smeets. He was able to print uncovered in the short corner after good preparatory work by the steamed left back Laurent Jans. Okoye prevented Sparta from falling behind again a minute later. With a fabulous save, he prevented Jörgen Strand Larsen from scoring with the head. On the stroke of half-time, Groningen escaped from a deficit when Vito van Crooij missed a great chance for the header. A possible hit would not have gone through, as the winger was positioned in an offside position.
After the break, Sparta emphatically went looking for the lead. After 54 minutes of play, FC Groningen defender Neraysho Kasanwirjo took a bet from Bart Vriends off the line, after which Michael Heylen shot high from the rebound. With half an hour left on the clock, Henk Fraser intervened: Tom Beugelsdijk came in and with a 5-3-2 system, the trainer of the Rotterdam team hoped to have a better chance of a good result. Just minutes after the change, Sparta had a huge chance of a goal. Smeets set Sven Mijnans free in front of the keeper, but he couldn’t control the ball well and saw the opportunity lost.
After the break, Sparta was the team that most claimed the victory. Groningen was unable to make a fist in attacking terms. With fifteen minutes left on the clock, Ngonge was replaced by Paulos Abraham, but the substitute was also unable to cause any danger. The biggest chances came in the final phase for the home team. Mijnans was close to 2-1 with a free kick, but Leeuwenburgh prevented a defeat. In injury time, Sparta attacker Emanuel Emegha was able to score with the head, but the substitute did not have his sights sharp. There was no goal, so both teams had to settle for a point. With that result, both teams are not making much progress. Groningen and Sparta remain the number sixteen and seventeen respectively in the Eredivisie.