NEC Nijmegen has booked a hard-fought victory in the Kitchen Champion Division on Friday evening. In De Goffert, Jong AZ had a 0-2 lead until the 55th minute, which was eventually turned by NEC: 3-2. The celebrated man was Edgar Barreto, who scored his second season goal in the final minute at the age of 36. After the first Nijmegen victory in five games, nothing changes to the position in the rankings: NEC remains sixth with 60 points, Young AZ occupies the seventeenth position with 32 points.
Early in the game, Cas Odenthal thought he would take NEC’s lead with a ticker, but the goal was disallowed due to offside. A few minutes later, Jelle Duin was able to go free on behalf of Young AZ to goalkeeper Mattijs Branderhorst, who saved with his feet. In the phase that followed, the best opportunities were for NEC. Elayis Tavsan shot wildly in free position, while Javier Vet, after a nice dribble by Jonathan Okita, went straight to keeper Mees Bakker.
Four minutes before half time, Zakaria Aboukhlal tapped in on behalf of Young AZ from a low cross by Yukinari Sugawara. This goal was also disallowed for offside, just like the goal from NEC earlier. A minute later, the Alkmaar reserves still put a valid goal on the scoreboard. Aboukhlal tapped in at the far post, where Taabouni had deposited the ball from the right side of the penalty area. More than six minutes after the break, Jong AZ expanded the lead even further.
On the right side of the field, Kenzo Goudmijn gained possession of the ball, after which he delivered a measured through ball to Sugawara. The right back took the ball perfectly and found the far corner with a diagonal slide: 0-2. Nevertheless, NEC straightened out a few minutes later. Bart van Rooij steamed over the right wing and delivered a tailor-made cross to Rangelo Janga, who towered above the Alkmaar defense and nodded the tying goal through the bottom of the crossbar: 1-2. In the remainder of the second half, the people of Nijmegen tightened the thumbscrews.
The attacking intentions provided opportunities for Janga, who just could not take advantage of an estimation error by Maxim Gullit. Halfway through the second half, the NEC again lacked fortune, when goalkeeper Mees Bakker tapped Jonathan Okita’s deflected long shot from the bottom corner. Fifteen minutes before the end, the appetite for attack was rewarded. The goal was comparable to the 1-2, as Van Rooij again acted as the principal, but this time it was Thomas Beekman who put the 2-2 on the scoreboard with a header. In the final phase, the visitors were deprived of a pure penalty, after which NEC struck in the counterattack. A corner by Okita was cut in by Barreto at the far post.
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