SC Heerenveen turned a deficit against AZ into a victory in a spectacular way in the very last minutes on Thursday evening. In the first play-off match, the Frisians saw a lead created by Sydney van Hooijdonk be turned around by Alkmaar hits from Hakon Evjen and Vangelis Pavlidis. AZ seemed on their way to an important away win, but that was not counting Amin Sarr and Tibor Halilovic. With nice shots in minutes 90 and 95 of the aforementioned players, it became 3-2 for Heerenveen. On Sunday it will be determined in Alkmaar who can compete with FC Utrecht or Vitesse in the final of the play-offs.
The visitors from Alkmaar played in the first match of the play-offs for European football against sc Heerenveen without Owen Wijndal. The captain of the team was absent from the selection due to an injury. Milos Kerkez was designated as a replacement, making his debut as a starting player. Ole Tobiasen had no reason to change at Heerenveen. His team made it to the play-offs after a mixed season with an excellent final sprint, so that the trainer gave the same names against AZ.
The first chance of the game was for AZ. Dani de Wit sent Jesper Karlsson towards the goal with an excellent pass, but goalkeeper Erwin Mulder was able to parry the Swede’s attempt. On the other hand, Thom Haye provided the first critical moment on behalf of Heerenveen. A long ball was placed by Van Hooijdonk with his head ready for Haye, who shot the ball just wide from the turn. In a half in which opportunities were scarce, the best shots came from AZ center defenders. First Pantelis Hatzidiakos tried from a great distance, after which Beukema also tried from about twenty meters. Both attempts, however, missed the right direction.
Heerenveen started the second half eagerly, which resulted in a few small chances. However, the first big chance was for AZ, after Mulder suddenly handed the ball in to Karlsson. The wing attacker tried to reach Pavlidis, but Sven van Beek regained possession before the Greek could take a shot. After less than an hour of play, Van Hooijdonk gave his team the lead. Haye passed the ball after a good action, after which the ball ended up at Van Hooijdonk via AZ keeper Peter Vindahl. The striker was able to finish easily and already scored his sixth goal in the last seven games.
Less than a minute later the ball was in the net on the other side. Evjen was played by Fredrik Midtsjö and outsmarted Mulder from 25 meters with a watched shot. AZ seemed inspired by the goal and immediately scored its second goal five minutes later. De Wit headed a pass from Midtsjö in front of the goal, after which the ball lingered and eventually ended up at Pavlidis. He didn’t hesitate and shot the ball in while falling: 1-2. l