NEC Nijmegen booked a minimal victory in the Eredivisie on Wednesday evening. On a visit to Willem II, coach Rogier Meijer’s team was 0-1 too strong. Painful for the Tilburgers, who lost for the ninth time in a row and have been waiting for their first three-pointer since September 25. The people of Nijmegen are currently in ninth place in the ranking with 25 points; Willem II is thirteenth with 18 points.
Trainer Fred Grim had a change in store compared to the lost duel with AZ (4-1). Nikolaos Michelis took a direct red card last game and was suspended; his honors were performed by Godfried Roemeratoe. A change was also made at NEC after the victory over Go Ahead Eagles (0-2). Souffian El Karouani was not fit to start and was replaced by Calvin Verdonk. The left back was involved in the most remarkable situation of the match in the 35th minute.
Ché Nunnely started a high-speed dribble on the right side of the field. Willem II’s wing striker reached the back line, where he was hit on the ankle after a hard tackle by Verdonk. Although the foul looked relatively serious, referee Danny Makkelie waved off Tilburg’s call for a yellow or red card. Three minutes later, the opening goal fell on the other side. After beautiful combination football around the hostile sixteen, Jordy Bruijn gave Magnus Mattsson a splitting pass. Face to face with goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther, the attacker finished off in a cool way in the short corner: 0-1.
During the first phase of the second company, the home side came no closer to the equalizer. On the contrary. In the 63rd minute Dirk Proper encountered Wellenreuther on behalf of NEC, after which Bruijn shot the ball just over the bar from the rebound. In a frantic attempt to force a breakthrough, Grim brought Mats Köhlert and John Yeboah in the final quarter in front of Roemeratoe and Ringo Meerveld. However, the attacking substitutions did not help. In the final minute of regular time, the damage became even greater for Willem II, who ended up with ten men. Ulrik Jenssen pulled the broken through Elayis Tavsan down and was sent off with a direct red card by Makkelie.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PSV | 17 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 40 |
| 2 | Ajax | 17 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 47 | 39 |
| 3 | Feyenoord | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 39 |
| 4 | Vitesse | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 33 |
| 5 | AZ | 18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 32 |
| 6 | FC Twente | 17 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 31 |
| 7 | FC Utrecht | 17 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 28 |
| 8 | SC Cambuur | 18 | 9 | 1 | 8 | -7 | 28 |
| 9 | NEC | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | -2 | 25 |
| 10 | sc Heerenveen | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | -5 | 25 |
| 11 | Go Ahead Eagles | 17 | 6 | 3 | 8 | -8 | 21 |
| 12 | Fc Groningen | 18 | 4 | 7 | 7 | -7 | 19 |
| 13 | Heracles Almelo | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | -5 | 18 |
| 14 | William II | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | -18 | 18 |
| 15 | RKC Waalwijk | 17 | 3 | 6 | 8 | -11 | 15 |
| 16 | Fortuna Sittard | 17 | 3 | 4 | 10 | -22 | 13 |
| 17 | Sparta Rotterdam | 17 | 2 | 6 | 9 | -12 | 12 |
| 18 | PEC Zwolle | 18 | 1 | 3 | 14 | -23 | 6 |
Date:Wednesday, December 22, 2021, 6:45 PM
Stadium:King Willem II Stadium (Tilburg)
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