Sunday, May 28, 2023 at 4:30 PM• Jeroen van Poppel • Last update: 16:36

SC Heerenveen has secured the last ticket for the play-offs on Sunday on the last match day in the Eredivisie for a ticket in the preliminary round of the Conference League. Kees van Wonderen’s team did what it had to do in a battle with direct competitor Go Ahead Eagles and won 2-0. RKC Waalwijk needed three points, but fell completely hopeless at the relegated SC Cambuur: 4-0. The Waalwijkers lost the last three matches of the season, which is going to fizzle out. Heerenveen finishes eighth and starts in the play-offs on Thursday against FC Twente.

The scenario beforehand
Heerenveen started the last round with the best papers for grabbing the last place in the play-offs. The Frisians had two points more than RKC Waalwijk in eighth place. The goal difference was only two goals in favor of Heerenveen, so that the latter club could not play for a draw beforehand. Go Ahead also had a chance in tenth place, but had to beat Heerenveen to do so. Moreover, RKC should not win at Cambuur.

SC Heerenveen – Go Ahead Eagles 2-0
The supporters of sc Heerenveen waved goodbye to locals SC Cambuur and FC Groningen in the Eredivisie in a playful way. “Farmer seeks derby”, read a banner in the Abe Lenstra Stadium. The first big chance of the game was for Isac Lidberg, who shot wide of the goal of the returned Andries Noppert after half an hour. Two minutes before the break, Heerenveen took the lead through Pawel Bochniewicz, who headed in from a cross by Anas Tahiri: 1-0. Sydney van Hooijdonk missed the chance for the second Frisian goal after an hour, but it still fell in minute 78. A measured cross from Osame Sahraoui was headed in by the catching Ché Nunnely: 2-0.

SC Cambuur – RKC Waalwijk 4-0
Opportunities were initially scarce in Leeuwarden, where Cambuur was determined to end the heavily disappointing season on a positive note. Deep in injury time of the first half, the Frisians struck twice. Roberts Uldrikis tapped in a beautiful cross from Alex Bangura, his first Eredivisie goal of the season: 1-0. Cambuur immediately intercepted RKC’s kick-off and launched David Sambissa, who finished in complete freedom: 2-0. Ten minutes after the break, Navarone Foor made it 3-0 by plucking a high ball from the air within the box and shooting it in. Milan Smit was able to make it 4-0 from a long ball in the 67th minute.