AZ and NEC Nijmegen shared the points in the Eredivisie on Thursday evening. The make-up game in the AFAS Stadium ended in a 1-1 draw. The best goal of the evening came from the foot of Jens Odgaard, who left goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, who was also named ‘KPN Man of the Match’ completely without a chance with a nice shot from distance. A few minutes before that, Iván Márquez had opened the score on behalf of NEC. It was the first time this season that the Alkmaarders dropped points.
Trainer Pascal Jansen was unable to use Bruno Martins Indi and Vangelis Pavlidis on Thursday evening, who were both sidelined with an injury. Instead of the center defender, Maxim Dekker, next to Sam Beukema, was allowed to make his debut in the base. Jens Odgaard was posted in the striker position. At NEC, signings Terry Lartey Sanniez and Nany Landry Dimata were directly in the match selection, although the duo had to settle for a place on the bench.
Jens Odgaard shoots @AZAlkmaar in a delicious way on the same level! ?? #?? #AZNEC pic.twitter.com/wnhTsbv8EL
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) September 1, 2022
In the first act, AZ called the shots, but partly due to the lack of sharpness and fortune in the completion, they did not succeed in breaking the spell. Myron van Brederode shot just over the bar and Cillessen was in the right place to stop Jordy Clasie’s shot. On the other side, the biggest chance was for Oussama Tannane, who just missed getting the ball between the posts. The scoreboard only started moving ten minutes after the break.
Tannane reached the head of Márquez with a corner kick from the left. The center defender towered over his direct opponents at the penalty spot and gave NEC the 0-1 with a firm header. The Nijmegen team could not enjoy their lead for long, because AZ drew the score within three minutes. Pantelis Hatzidiakos placed the ball about 25 meters from the enemy goal on Odgaard, who struck out devastatingly and left Cillessen completely without a chance: 1-1. Although AZ in particular continued to look for the winning goal in the remainder of the match, it was no longer found.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PSV | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 12 |
| 2 | Ajax | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 12 |
| 3 | Feyenoord | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 10 |
| 4 | AZ | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| 5 | FC Twente | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| 6 | sc Heerenveen | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 8 |
| 7 | Excelsior | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -5 | 6 |
| 8 | NEC | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 9 | Fc Groningen | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -4 | 5 |
| 10 | SC Cambuur | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 11 | Sparta Rotterdam | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 4 |
| 12 | FC Emmen | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -6 | 4 |
| 13 | FC Volendam | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -8 | 4 |
| 14 | RKC Waalwijk | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | -1 | 3 |
| 15 | FC Utrecht | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 2 |
| 16 | Vitesse | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -9 | 1 |
| 17 | Go Ahead Eagles | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -7 | 0 |
| 18 | Fortuna Sittard | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -8 | 0 |