FC Groningen keeps promotion chances in its own hands after a draw with Willem II

The silver shield, the trophy for promotion to the Premier League, was already on display on the square in front of the King Willem II stadium an hour and a half before kick-off. Inside, the flowers were waiting to be handed out to the players of the home club. The local hard core gathered behind the goal well before the first whistle to sing to the Willem II players during the warm-up and to scare FC Groningen with a flute concert when they arrived on the field.

No one could have missed the fact that it was about something on Friday evening in Tilburg. The stakes were high. The full stadium worked to the Brabanders’ advantage, although the sold-out away section with six hundred Groningen residents also made itself felt. On the other hand, the people of Groningen have been in top form for months. The big question was who could best handle the tension and pressure.

FC Groningen in the rhythm

At first that seemed to be the home club. FC Groningen looked a bit awkward in the first minutes. For example, the always stable Marco Rente made a small mistake in the opening phase and simply lost the ball to his opponent, creating the first opportunity for Willem II. Nick Doodeman’s shot went wide and over.

It didn’t take long before FC Groningen found its regular rhythm. Willem II was trapped in his own half because the northerners put old-fashioned pressure on the Tilburgers. They clearly had difficulty with that. After eleven minutes it led to the first dangerous moment for Dick Lukkien’s men, a free kick from about twenty meters, slightly diagonally in front of the Willem II goal. It would normally be a good thing for Laros Duarte, but the midfielder was not feeling well in the first half. His effort flew over the top.

Murder and fire

Moments later, the stadium screamed bloody murder because referee Dieperink refused to put the ball on the spot for Willem II. Attacker Thijs Oosting got caught in the wringer by two FC Groningen players, but the Emmen native went to the ground far too easily in the penalty area of ​​the northerners. Referee Rob Dieperink rightly rejected the penalty claim.

FC Groningen then took over the initiative again. Thom van Bergen was given the most freedom on behalf of FC Groningen, appeared dangerously in front of the Willem II goal a few times, but showed himself a little too selfless when he could have shot himself, but decided to pass it to teammate Romano Postema. The top scorer was not reached.

Statistics

FC Groningen remained the parent party in Tilburg. The statistics also showed that. Halfway through the first half, according to the data, the Groningers had 62 percent of the ball possession, it was 5-0 in corners and the northerners had already shot on target six times and Willem II only once. Long balls also arrived much more often at FC Groningen (60 versus 24 percent), which was also reflected on the field, because the home club was unable to keep the ball in the team for a moment, partly due to the actions of FC Groningen.

We were waiting for a decisive final pass, a chance and a goal for FC Groningen. It seemed to happen in the 28th minute when Luciano Valente delivered a perfect deep pass to Postema. After an excellent run, he was suddenly free for Willem II goalkeeper Joshua Smits to take a shot. The reddish Groninger did that too, but the keeper turned his shot.

Big loss

A few minutes before half-time, FC Groningen had another chance through Van Bergen, but he also failed the Tilburg goalkeeper. A bigger loss for FC Groningen followed a little later, when Luciano Valente suddenly sat down while there was no opponent nearby. It is usually a precursor to the most annoying injuries. The Italian from Groningen clutched his thigh, could no longer walk and had to be brought in supported by two men. He was replaced by Rui Mendes.

The Portuguese, who came over from FC Emmen during the winter break, promptly got the biggest chance of the match at the start of the second half. The attacker, with the ball at his feet, stormed towards the Tilburg goal alone, chased by a group of Willem II defenders. At the very last moment, defender Erik Schouten made a sliding save for the home club. From the corner kick that followed, Marco Rente almost scored with a header, but it was cleared off the line at the last moment.

Resilience

Shortly afterwards it was a hit on the other side of the field. Willem II spooned the ball over the back line of FC Groningen, where Nick Doodeman suddenly appeared on behalf of the leader. With a great swing, the ball flew into the roof of the goal and the stadium was on fire.

The strength of FC Groningen this season is that Lukkien’s team is not immediately deterred by these types of setbacks. That resilience came to the surface a few minutes later, when it was hit at the other end. Postema sent out Schreuders, who in turn also played a devastating role. His shot also flew against the ropes via an opponent: 1-1.

Armed peace?

Although it was thought beforehand that an armed peace could be signed in the final phase if the score were still equal fifteen minutes before the end, nothing could be further from the truth. Both teams continued to fight for every meter until the end, but the game became sloppier and the number of opportunities more sparse as the end of the match approached.

The score remained 1-1 in Tilburg. A disappointment for the home club, who had to postpone the party for a while, but kept a perspective on promotion and the championship. And FC Groningen also kept a close eye on a wonderful end to the season. The northerners remained one point behind number two Roda JC, which will visit Euroborg in the last round. The competition leader who signed the schedule for the first division must have had a crystal ball.