Sunday, October 24, 2021 at 2:07 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 14:12

NEC booked a great victory in the Eredivisie on Sunday afternoon after an extremely turbulent week. The team of trainer Rogier Meijer was a visit to FC Twente with 1-2 too strong due to a gigantic blunder by Robin Pröpper fifteen minutes before the end. The center defender was childishly easy to snatch away and thus led to the first loss for his team since August 28. NEC rises to eighth place due to the victory and is still one point behind Twente, which is one place higher in the ranking.

Judging by the statistics, Twente did not seem to have much to worry about a result, as the Tukkers remained unbeaten in the last ten home matches with NEC in the Eredivisie. In addition, the team of trainer Ron Jans was unbeaten for six matches in a row. However, the good form was hardly noticeable in the first half. Twente barely made it into the piece and had trouble making the game. It was therefore NEC that caused the first moment of excitement, when Jonathan Okita saw a shot narrowly blocked after half an hour of play. A shot by Daan Rots on the stroke of half-time went a meter wide.

As soporific and mediocre as the first half was, so briskly did both sides begin the second act. After five minutes of play, the visitors rightfully took the lead. An attempt by Okita could initially be turned around by Lars Unnerstall, but the German had no chance on the rebound from Elayis Tavsan: 0-1. Twente soon seemed to come alongside, but had to watch Mattijs Branderhorst act twice. In the counterpunch, the visitors got the chance to lift the margin to two. Once again Tavsan had the ball for the shot when the organization at Twente was completely lost, but this time Unnerstall was able to save.

The first quarter of the second half was by far the most enjoyable of the entire game. After a shot by Rots that went a meter wide of Branderhorst’s goal, Virgil Misidjan was accurate. The winger found a hole and pierced the leather ten minutes after his substitution in the right corner: 1-1. Meijer then brought in Javier Vet, among others, and saw how his midfielder became the man of the match. Vet snatched the ball in a childishly simple way from Pröpper, who was on the edge of his own sixteen, and pushed the ball under Unnerstall: 1-2. The last achievement of Denilho Cleonise’s match ended next to NEC’s goal.