Sparta Rotterdam won at the last minute against FC Groningen on Saturday. At Het Kasteel, coach Maurice Steijn’s team received a penalty just before time, which was used by Vito van Crooij. Both teams had already scored once before that, via Ricardo Pepi and Sven Mijnans. Due to the victory, Sparta is currently seventh in the Eredivisie, while Groningen has to make do with eleventh place.
Sparta started with a debutant under the bar: Youri Schoonderwaldt, who came over from ADO Den Haag this summer, replaced the injured Nick Olij. On the left wing, Steijn preferred Koki Saito, at the expense of Younes Namli. It was the first base place for the van Lommel hired Japanese, who already gave two assists during his Eredivisie debut against FC Volendam two weeks ago. Pepi made his basic debut at Groningen. The American already came in against SC Cambuur (0-1 win) last week, but now replaced Florian Krüger from the kick-off. There was also a starting spot for Liam van Gelderen and Marin Sverko, while Neraysho Kasanwirjo and Luciano Valente, among others, started on the bench.
No lack of creativity with this Sparta fan??#spagro pic.twitter.com/JxVP0KSzhE
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Sparta dominated in the opening phase. It was close to the opening goal via a long shot from Shurandy Sambo, but Groningen goalie Michael Verrips saved. After more than fifteen minutes, the team from Rotterdam seemed to take the lead when Adil Auassar scored, but the VAR canceled the goal because there was offside. Sparta was again dangerous after half an hour via a free kick by Van Crooij, but again Verrips saved. A few minutes later, the visitors were also threatening for the first time, but Schoonderwaldt saved Paulos Abraham’s long shot. The rebound from ex-Spartan Laros Duarte also yielded nothing: his shot went just wide.
The second half started without great chances. Only after fifteen minutes there was danger, and that immediately resulted in the opening goal. A measured cross from Isak Määttä was headed in by Pepi, who made his first goal for Groningen: 0-1. The match was thus brought to life, and Sparta increased the pressure. About twenty minutes before the end, this resulted in a corner, from which Mijnans headed in the 1-1. In the final phase, Sparta claimed the most victory, and just before time it was awarded a penalty after a foul by Mike te Wierik on Tobias Lauritsen. Van Crooij took advantage of the opportunity from eleven meters, and thus gave Sparta its third victory of the season.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ajax | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 18 |
| 2 | Feyenoord | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 16 |
| 3 | PSV | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 15 |
| 4 | AZ | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| 5 | FC Twente | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 13 |
| 6 | Sparta Rotterdam | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
| 7 | sc Heerenveen | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 8 | Excelsior | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | -7 | 9 |
| 9 | FC Utrecht | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 9 |
| 10 | NEC | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 11 | Fc Groningen | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -5 | 8 |
| 12 | RKC Waalwijk | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 13 | SC Cambuur | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -5 | 4 |
| 14 | Vitesse | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -9 | 4 |
| 15 | FC Emmen | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -10 | 4 |
| 16 | FC Volendam | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -13 | 4 |
| 17 | Go Ahead Eagles | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | -7 | 3 |
| 18 | Fortuna Sittard | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | -9 | 1 |