MVV Maastricht booked a hard-fought victory over Young AZ in the Kitchen Champion Division on Friday afternoon. The Limburgers relinquished a 1-0 lead, but were left with three points in the game: 3-2. It was the fourth consecutive victory for MVV, rising to eleventh place. Because there are still games to be played later on Friday, several clubs can still pass MVV.
At MVV, the lack of Raoul Last this week caused some unrest in the run-up to the game with AZ. The defender communicated via social media that he will have to leave the club after this season, because he would no longer appear in the future plans; trainer Darije Kalezic thinks differently and kept Last out of the match selection. However, the sporting results have been excellent in Maastricht in recent weeks and the club wanted to continue on that basis. MVV opened the score after just over fifteen minutes, when AZ keeper Beau Reus did not properly handle an apparently sustainable long shot by Joy-Lance Mickels.
Not much later, however, AZ came to the same level. MVV goalkeeper Mike Havekotte seemed to save a header from Des Kunst in two instances, but the linesman noted that the ball had passed the goal line before Havekotte pressed the leather against the chest. He was also slightly pushed by Kunst. As a result, MVV was unable to match an old club record – winning four times in a row without conceding a goal. Shortly after the break, the first attack of the second half gave AZ a 1-2 lead, as Fedde de Jong made it 1-2 after a combination with Kunst.
However, MVV also managed to turn a deficit into a lead. After a nice action and ditto cross by Jérôme Deom, Djibril Dianessy made it 2-2, after which Arne Naudts scored the decisive goal in minute 81 after good preparatory work by Sven Blummel. In the five-minute injury time, AZ was looking for the 3-3, but that goal was no longer possible.
| No. | Team | M. | W. | G. | V. | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SC Cambuur | 27 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 55 | 66 |
| 2 | De Graafschap | 27 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 60 |
| 3 | NAC Breda | 27 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 29 | 56 |
| 4 | Almere City FC | 27 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 23 | 56 |
| 5 | Go Ahead Eagles | 27 | 16 | 5 | 6 | 23 | 53 |
| 6 | NEC | 27 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 50 |
| 7 | FC Volendam | 27 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 44 |
| 8 | Roda JC Kerkrade | 27 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 44 |
| 9 | Telstar | 27 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 34 |
| 10 | Excelsior | 27 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 33 |
| 11 | MVV Maastricht | 28 | 9 | 5 | 14 | -22 | 32 |
| 12 | Young Ajax | 27 | 8 | 6 | 13 | -11 | 30 |
| 13 | Helmond Sport | 27 | 7 | 9 | 11 | -12 | 30 |
| 14 | FC Eindhoven | 27 | 7 | 8 | 12 | -9 | 29 |
| 15 | Young FC Utrecht | 27 | 9 | 1 | 17 | -14 | 28 |
| 16 | TOP Oss | 27 | 8 | 4 | 15 | -20 | 28 |
| 17 | Young PSV | 27 | 6 | 6 | 15 | -18 | 24 |
| 18 | Young AZ | 28 | 6 | 5 | 17 | -35 | 23 |
| 19 | FC Dordrecht | 27 | 6 | 3 | 18 | -41 | 21 |
| 20 | FC Den Bosch | 27 | 4 | 7 | 16 | -29 | 19 |
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Date:Friday, March 12, 2021, 2:00 PM
Stadium:The Geusselt (Maastricht)
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