RKC Waalwijk took very important points on Friday evening in the fight against direct relegation. Henk Fraser saw his team start very well on their own field against NEC and eventually win 2-0. Thanks to the important three-point goal, RKC is six points above the relegation zone.

RKC, which played in special carnival uniforms, had to make do without the injured Michiel Kramer and Mats Seuntjens. This created a starting spot for David Min, which turned out to be a golden opportunity for Fraser. NEC had won five of the last seven competition matches and also started the meeting in Waalwijk with a lot of confidence, partly thanks to reaching the semi-finals of the TOTO KNVB Cup.

However, NEC's start was anything but good. Min correctly assessed an incoming cross from Aaron Meijers and tapped in the 1-0 from close range. Things went from bad to worse when Philippe Sandler tapped Min in the box. Referee Dennis Higler initially saw nothing in it, but after a check with the VAR the ball still went on the spot. Jasper Cillessen, however, saved Dario van den Buijs' effort, who was allowed to take the penalty in Kramer's absence.

Jasper Cillessen saves a penalty, but then…??#rkcnec

— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) February 9, 2024

VAR intervened again, because a NEC player had entered the box too early. Not Van den Buijs, but Min took the shot this time and his hard bang disappeared into the right corner: 2-0. So bad luck for Cillessen in particular, who saved a penalty for the first time on the Dutch fields, but ultimately did not play a heroic role. NEC was also unable to reduce the deficit before half time.

Rogier Meijer intervened halfway at NEC: Rober González and Sylla Sow came on for Sontje Hansen and Mees Hoedemakers. It seemed to inspire the visitors to play some better attacking play. Cillessen put away Tjaronn Chery after an hour of play, but the attacking midfielder was stopped by the alert Etienne Vaessen.

At the other end, Cillessen kept NEC going with a nice save on a hard header by Van den Buijs. Vaessen also had a good match on behalf of RKC, which did not relinquish its early lead in the second half.

There was even more setback for NEC in the final phase, as Sow had to abandon the fight after a collision with Vaessen. Vaessen showed his good form again shortly before the end by cleverly preventing Koki Ogawa from scoring. Three very important points for RKC and a downer for NEC after a strong series in the Eredivisie.

More sports news