Excelsior has qualified for the semi-finals of the Kitchen Champion Play-Offs at the expense of Roda JC Kerkrade. In a game that was full of opportunities, it took until extra time for the two goals to appear on the scoreboard: 0-2. Extra time had to be taken, as the first game ended in a 2-2 draw and no goals were scored in Kerkrade within regular time (0-0). Substitutes Couhaib Driouech and Nikolas Agrafiotis gave the Rotterdam team the victory with their goals in the 5th and 33rd minute of extra time.
Roda started the match well and created small opportunities through Patrick Pflücke and Dylan Vente. After just under twenty minutes, the home team had an excellent opportunity for the opening goal when Bryan Limbombe got the ball from a rebound at his feet. However, the Belgian slipped and did not get the ball full. A minute later, Excelsior was thinking of a penalty when Marouan Azarkan went into the penalty area with the ball at his feet, and then Amir Absalem surprised with a hood move. Roda JC’s left back took Azarkan along in his sliding tackle, but referee Jochem Kamphuis waved the incident away. Ten minutes later, the away team’s first good chance arose when the ball fell at the feet of Reuven Niemeijer. Absalem was unable to clear the ball well, but Niemeijer’s shot that followed lacked precision.
@excelsiorrdam lead in extra time! What else can Roda do?!#rodexc #deunion pic.twitter.com/hOCv72TZui
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) May 14, 2022
After half an hour of play, Stijn van Gassel managed to keep his goal clean with a phenomenal save from Pflücke. Vente delivered the ball with a beautiful cross pass to his teammate, who fired from close to the goal. Niemeijer then had a good shot chance, but again he didn’t get the ball full. Moments later, Azarkan distinguished himself with a beautiful pass on Dallinga. The striker put back, but Azarkan ran into Daryl Werker, who took the ball off the goal line. From the subsequent throw-in, goalkeeper Rody de Boer saved on Dallinga’s shot.
The match was played on the cutting edge. Nathan Tjoe-A-On stood full on Vente’s ankle and Wieffer escaped a red card just before half-time. The midfielder played the ball too far in front of him and saw Werker coming towards him. Wieffer pushed through and took the defender of Roda JC with him in his tackle. Kamphuis, who was not assisted by a VAR, penalized the midfielder with a yellow card. Both teams started the second half unchanged and continued their pursuit of the opening goal. Azarkan was close to the opening goal in the 50th minute. The twenty-year-old midfielder dribbled into the penalty area, passed Werker, but shot straight at goalkeeper De Boer.
Although Roda went in search of the first goal, the visitors became dangerous several times in the counter. Halfway through the second act, Excelsior should have taken the lead. In the sixteen, the leather ended up at Niemeijer’s feet, who passed Davy van den Berg with a smart move. The defender lightly tapped the attacker of Excelsior, after which Kamphuis awarded a penalty. Dallinga took his responsibility, but De Boer made a nice save. Although both teams hoped to break the spell in the final phase of regular time, an extension was inevitable.
Both teams started the extra time with fresh courage. The home team appeared to score through Guus Joppen, but a minute later saw Excelsior take the lead. Werker extended a corner, after which Joppen tapped the ball over his thigh from one meter away. On the other hand, Siebe Horemans hurled the ball into the penalty area and saw it land with luck at Driouech through Werker’s body. The substitute came in front of his man and tapped in from close range: 0-1. The home team tried again, but was no longer able to force the equalizer and saw Excelsior deliver the final blow in the last seconds via Agrafiotis: 0-2.