NEC and Sparta Rotterdam balanced each other in the Eredivisie on Saturday. The meeting between the teams of Rogier Meijer and Henk Fraser ended in a goalless draw and so NEC is still waiting since October 31 last year, 3-0 win over FC Groningen, for a win at home: 0-0. The Nijmegen team will undoubtedly feel disadvantaged by the arbitration again due to a debatable moment in the second half.
NEC had the greatest opportunities in the first half, but failed to score. Sparta, in turn, had a hard time getting out of the Nijmegen pressure. Meijer’s team showed itself more from the twentieth minute. Jonathan Okita, for example, took a rebound after a save by Maduka Okoye on his shoe in one go, but Dirk Abels headed the ball off the line and thus prevented the 1-0.
Sparta then had a good phase and made a more dangerous impression, especially through corners. NEC controlled the game towards halftime and had the prospect of an opening goal. A shot by Dirk Proper from the second line went just wide and an attempt by Elayis Tavsan in the far corner was well tapped by Okoye. Fraser had ample reason to come up with a new plan for the second half.
The visit from Rotterdam-West breathed a sigh of relief after fifteen minutes in the second half. A bet from NEC came through the arm of Adil Auassar against the crossbar and the VAR looked at the images extensively. In the end it was decided not to call referee Jochem Kamphuis to the side and not to give a penalty. A hard blow for NEC, which already did not receive a penalty against AZ after a handball by Jesper Karlsson and Souffian El Karouani against FC Groningen was sent off with a red card. This print was eventually shelved.
NEC increased the pressure in the final phase, but Sparta held on and eventually took a point from Nijmegen. Joeri de Kamps escaped red after he came in unnecessarily hard, with yellow already in his pocket. Kamphuis did it with a final warning and Fraser then took the midfielder off. In extra time, Okoye prevented Okita from becoming the match winner with a good save.
NEC failed to be in eighth place in the Eredivisie for at least a day due to the draw against Sparta. The club still occupies tenth place and will play an away game against number nine SC Cambuur after the international match. Sparta, in turn, remains below the red line.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | † | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ajax | 26 | 20 | 3 | 3 | 66 | 63 |
| 2 | PSV | 26 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 32 | 61 |
| 3 | Feyenoord | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 35 | 55 |
| 4 | FC Twente | 27 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 54 |
| 5 | AZ | 26 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 51 |
| 6 | Vitesse | 25 | 12 | 5 | 8 | -6 | 41 |
| 7 | FC Utrecht | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 40 |
| 8 | Fc Groningen | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | -4 | 33 |
| 9 | SC Cambuur | 27 | 10 | 3 | 14 | -15 | 33 |
| 10 | NEC | 27 | 8 | 8 | 11 | -10 | 32 |
| 11 | sc Heerenveen | 27 | 8 | 6 | 13 | -12 | 30 |
| 12 | Go Ahead Eagles | 27 | 8 | 6 | 13 | -13 | 30 |
| 13 | Heracles Almelo | 27 | 7 | 6 | 14 | -10 | 27 |
| 14 | RKC Waalwijk | 26 | 5 | 9 | 12 | -14 | 24 |
| 15 | Fortuna Sittard | 25 | 6 | 4 | 15 | -27 | 22 |
| 16 | William II | 26 | 6 | 4 | 16 | -23 | 22 |
| 17 | Sparta Rotterdam | 25 | 4 | 9 | 12 | -18 | 21 |
| 18 | PEC Zwolle | 27 | 5 | 5 | 17 | -22 | 20 |