Saturday, October 16, 2021 at 10:56 PM• Mart van Mourik • Last update: 23:05

Fortuna Sittard secured three points in the final phase on Saturday evening. For a long time it looked like the Eredivisie match with SC Cambuur would go out like a candle, but in the final phase the ban was still broken: 1-0. Just before the end of regular time, George Cox scored the opening goal, after which Mitchel Paulissen seemed to score the equalizer. However, the goal of the Frisians was rejected after viewing the video images for offside.

Trainer Henk de Jong changed his team in two places compared to the lost duel with AZ (1-3). The honors of the suspended Alex Bangura were taken over by David Sambissa, while Paulissen had to make way for Jamie Jacobs. At Fortuna Sittard, Zion Flemming returned to the base after more than a month of injury and he formed the striker duo with Mats Seuntjens. Bassala Sambou became the child of the account and was allowed to sit on the bank.

The spectators were not presented with a high-quality first half and the entertainment value was also relatively limited. The greatest chance for half-time was noted by Flemming, who fired on the enemy goal from outside the box after half an hour of play, but ran into goalkeeper Sonny Stevens. Five minutes before the halftime signal, Cambuur also handed out a pinprick. Michael Breij placed the ball in the far bottom corner, where goalkeeper Yanick van Osch was just in time to avert a goal.

The start of the second half was a breath of fresh air for the audience present. After one and a half minutes, Mees Hoedemakers was allowed to score a free kick from a promising position, but his effort shattered on the crossbar. A few minutes later, Cambuur thought he could open the score through Tom Boere. The striker had already worked the ball in, but the linesman on duty flagged the goal for offside. On the other side, Seuntjens then became dangerous after a quick throw-in; however, he ran into the alert Stevens.

Fifteen minutes before the end, Cambuur’s goalkeeper again made a crucial save. This time Stevens defused a firm header from Flemming. Moments later, Seuntjens made another attempt to open the score, but again it was Stevens who made a nice save. Yet the outstanding closing post was still outwitted. Cox nodded in the 86th minute on a pass from Tesfaldet Tekie for the 1-0 against the ropes through the inside of the post. In stoppage time, Paulissen hoped to score the equalizer on a pass from Roberts Uldrikis, but the VAR rejected the goal for offside.