Saturday, January 28, 2023 at 10:03 PM• Jonathan van Haaster • Last update: 22:11

NEC failed to add three points on Saturday evening. In Nijmegen it became 1-1 against Sparta Rotterdam after goals from Arno Verschueren and Pedro Marques. It was already the eleventh draw for NEC this season, while Sparta had to swallow its first goal against in the Eredivisie since November 11. Due to the division of points, NEC is slightly firmer in ninth place, while Sparta is sixth and fails to pass Ajax in the ranking.

NEC lost 2-0 at leader Feyenoord on Wednesday, partly due to a red card for Iván Márquez. However, the Spaniard’s red card was dropped, allowing him to kick off against Sparta. Trainer Rogier Meijer made no changes compared to the game in De Kuip. Midfielder Mikkel Duelund is close to a transfer to Aarhus, but nevertheless started in the base. The excellently performing Sparta did not pass RKC Waalwijk (0-0) in the midweek round. Steijn made a forced change compared to that game. Koki Saito was missing due to an injury, leaving Younes Namli to take up his left wing position.

NEC was the parent in the first half, but nevertheless Sparta almost took the lead in the opening phase. Jasper Cillessen passed the ball to Philippe Sandler, who took far too long to make a decision and shot into a Spartan. The ball ended up with the completely uncovered Tobias Lauritsen, but the Norwegian produced a weak shot that ended up in the hands of Cillessen. On the other hand, Ibrahim Cissoko was dangerous with a header that went just wide. The team from Rotterdam saw central defenders Bart Vriends and Adil Auassar both drop out in the first company. After the forced substitutions, the organization at the back of Sparta was not good and NEC almost benefited from that. Sandler had a nice pass to Duelund, who shot wide in a very promising position.

Shortly after the break, Dirk Proper got the chance to open the score. However, the midfielder saw Nick Olij get out of his goal well, who thus prevented a hit. On the other hand, Joshua Kitolano had a devastating shot, forcing Cillessen to make a great save. It was a hit from the ensuing corner kick. On a pass from Vito van Crooij, Verschueren managed to head the ball against the ropes: 0-1. NEC then turned on more and more and through a Duelund header it came close to 1-1. After Verschueren failed to score his second header goal, the goal fell on the other side. Sandler played tight to Marques, who quickly turned away and found the far corner: 1-1. NEC insisted emphatically in the final phase, but Landry Dimata saw his header hit the post in minute 96.