FC Utrecht was much too strong for PEC Zwolle, partly due to great goal Toornstra Football

Toornstra, who celebrates his 35th birthday on Thursday, shot from more than 20 meters in the 49th minute. It was not only a nice goal from the four-time Dutch international, but also an anniversary goal.

For the 25th time, Toornstra scored an Eredivisie goal from outside the penalty area. He is the fifth player to reach this milestone this century, after Steven Berghuis, Hakim Ziyech, Lasse Schöne and Theo Janssen.

With the victory, FC Utrecht takes another step towards the play-offs for European football, while PEC Zwolle is not yet safe. Next Saturday, coach Johnny Jansen’s team will play at home against Excelsior. PEC can then make an important contribution in the battle for enforcement.

Halfway through it seemed possible for PEC to also achieve a result at FC Utrecht. It was 0-0 in Stadion Galgenwaard, but in the first five minutes of the second half Jans’ team scored twice.

Sam Lammers scored from the rebound in the 47th minute and two minutes later Toornstra scored beautifully. In the sixtieth minute, PEC striker Lennart Thy brought back the tension (2-1).

Substitute Isac Lidberg then decided the match. After a beautiful attack, with a back heel from Oscar Fraulo (also a substitute), he scored with a placed shot in the 77th minute (3-1). Two minutes later he also made it 4-1 in an almost identical manner.

In the final phase, another substitute was accurate. Eighteen-year-old Englishman Adrian Blake, who scored for the first time in the Eredivisie, set the final score at 5-1. Once again the assist came from Fraulo.