SC Heerenveen booked a minimal victory on PEC Zwolle on Saturday evening. Art Langeler’s team fell behind after an hour via a clumsy own goal by Bram van Polen and was unable to take a point in the second half: 1-0. Due to the defeat, the people of Zwolle remain last in the Eredivisie, while sc Heerenveen rises to seventh place.
Langeler had freed up space in his starting eleven for central defender Sam Kersten. Mustafa Saymak also made his comeback at PEC after a groin injury as an attacking midfielder. The visitors saw the infirmary fill up in the run-up to the competition match in Zwolle. Goalkeeper Erwin Mulder broke his thumb last Sunday, during the defeat against FC Twente (2-3), and was replaced by Xavier Mous, who played for PEC in the last two years. Siem de Jong also dropped out earlier with an upper leg injury and wing striker Filip Stevanovic was also injured this week.
In a lackluster opening phase, Heerenveen had the dominance of the field, but this did not immediately lead to great opportunities. Lucas Woudenberg tried to put Henk Veerman in position after ten minutes with a cross from the left. However, the striker did not make heads in a promising position through the intervention of PEC captain Van Polen. The first danger the home team managed to create came from the foot of Gervane Kastaneer. The striker only took his action too far, allowing Sven van Beek to block his shot. It seemed to be the signal for the people of Zwolle to throw off their diffidence, because from a cross by Rico Stieder, Slobodan Tedic was close to the opening goal with the tip of his shoe.
The biggest chance of the first half, however, was for Heerenveen. Van Beek thought he could head in the 0-1 from a corner. The defender only counted outside Kostas Lamprou, who proved his value for PEC with a good reflex. The game went up and down in the early stages of the second half. Tedic was sent into the depths on behalf of the home team, but the attacker shot the fists of goalkeeper Mous from close range. The ban was lifted by the visitors after more than an hour of play. Anthony Musaba, who was cold in the field, gave in to Milan van Ewijk. The right back gave from the back line, after which the ball ended up clumsily through Van Polen’s leg: 0-1.
Dashawn Redan was then allowed to squeeze his hands that he could remain on the field. The winger hit Woudenberg out of frustration. Referee Dennis Higler let it go, after which Langeler decided to take the attacker off the field and bring a fresh force into the team in the form of Chardi Landu. Frustration increased among PEC supporters, who hoped for a final offensive. However, the attacking impotence of the Zwolle players also became clear in the last ten minutes and so the seventh defeat of the season was a fact.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ajax | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 19 |
| 2 | William II | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| 3 | Feyenoord | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 15 |
| 4 | PSV | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 15 |
| 5 | FC Utrecht | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 14 |
| 6 | FC Twente | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 |
| 7 | sc Heerenveen | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | -1 | 13 |
| 8 | SC Cambuur | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 12 |
| 9 | Heracles Almelo | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | -1 | 10 |
| 10 | Vitesse | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | -8 | 10 |
| 11 | NEC | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -7 | 8 |
| 12 | Go Ahead Eagles | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -9 | 7 |
| 13 | AZ | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 14 | RKC Waalwijk | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -3 | 6 |
| 15 | Fc Groningen | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -7 | 6 |
| 16 | Sparta Rotterdam | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | -8 | 6 |
| 17 | Fortuna Sittard | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -7 | 5 |
| 18 | PEC Zwolle | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | -12 | 1 |