PEC Zwolle has managed to book a convincing victory over NAC Breda. Victorious in North Brabant the Blue Fingers with 0-2 via two hits from Younes Taha. The attacker’s second goal, just before half-time, turned out to be an insurmountable blow for the team from Breda. Thanks to the victory, PEC is firmly in second place and is two points away from leader Heracles Almelo, which had no problem with TOP Oss earlier in the evening. NAC is stuck in a disappointing fifteenth place in the Kitchen Champion Division.
Although PEC was the better party in the early stages, the first big chance of the match came to NAC. Odysseus Velanas had an excellent dribble, after which he offered Jort van der Sande a great opportunity. The attacker’s shot rolled just wide of the post. On the other hand, Thomas van den Belt had a shooting opportunity on the edge of the sixteen-meter area. NAC goalkeeper Roy Kortsmit was relieved to see that the ball went just wide. A few minutes later, Luis Görlich tried with a shot that flew just over the home team’s goal. Just after half an hour it was hit for the visitors. Tomislav Mrkonjic passed the ball on the right side to Görlich, who saw Taha standing free in front of the goal. The attacker did not fail and made his fourth goal in the last three games: 0-1.
Lennart Thy could have made it 0-2 a few minutes later. The German should have lost to Taha, but he didn’t and to Taha’s fury ran into Kortsmit. PEC ran over NAC in the pre-rest phase and could also have scored through Mrkonjic, but the Croat’s placed bet could only just be tapped out of the corner. In injury time of the first half it still became 0-2. A nice action by star Davy van den Berg, who played Javier Vet through his legs, led to a pass to Görlich, who passed and saw Taha take care of his second of the evening with a header.
After the break, NAC came out of the dressing room with offensive intentions and it became threatening via Velanas, who found Jasper Schendelaar in his path. On the other hand, PEC was close to 0-3 through Van den Berg, whose effort grazed the outside of the post. A setback for NAC was the failure of Stef de Wijs, who grabbed his hamstring and was replaced by Kaj de Rooij. Twenty minutes before the end, Alex Plat tried with a placed shot, but his effort hit the crossbar. On the other hand, PEC was sloppy in its completion and could not force the final decision. For example, substitute Gervane Kastaneer could have made it 0-3, but he encountered Kortsmit, who did not keep his team going for the first time. However, the victory was no longer in danger for PEC.
???? After a delicious panna from Davy van den Berg, Younes Taha scores his second goal of the evening @PECZwolle! #NACPEC
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) November 19, 2022
| No. | Team | m | W | G | v | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heracles Almelo | 16 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 37 |
| 2 | PEC Zwolle | 16 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 35 |
| 3 | MVV Maastricht | 16 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 33 |
| 4 | FC Eindhoven | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 29 |
| 5 | Almere City FC | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 26 |
| 6 | VVV Venlo | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 25 |
| 7 | Young AZ | 16 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 24 |
| 8 | Roda JC Kerkrade | 16 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 24 |
| 9 | William II | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 23 |
| 10 | Young Ajax | 16 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 21 |
| 11 | The County | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| 12 | Young PSV | 16 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 20 |
| 13 | FC Den Bosch | 16 | 6 | 1 | 9 | -5 | 19 |
| 14 | Telstar | 16 | 4 | 7 | 5 | -8 | 19 |
| 15 | NAC Breda | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | -8 | 18 |
| 16 | Ado den Haag | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | -7 | 16 |
| 17 | TOP Oss | 16 | 5 | 1 | 10 | -11 | 16 |
| 18 | FC Dordrecht | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | -6 | 15 |
| 19 | Helmond Sports | 16 | 5 | 0 | 11 | -17 | 15 |
| 20 | Young FC Utrecht | 16 | 2 | 3 | 11 | -15 | 9 |
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