Willem II is promoted, Roda celebrates too early with storming the field, FC Groningen is still alive

NOS Football•yesterday, 10:02 PM

Only Willem II has secured promotion to the Premier League in a thrilling penultimate round of the first division. The Tilburg team drew 1-1 at FC Dordrecht.

Roda JC Kerkrade was also close to promotion with a 2-0 win over SC Cambuur, and was already celebrating, but a late equalizer from FC Groningen at Telstar (1-1) in the 95th minute kept Groningen alive.

The emotional rollercoaster became even more intense for Roda when the stadium speaker announced that Telstar had made it 2-1. That was incorrect. The decision will be made next Friday when FC Groningen and Roda will compete for promotion in a direct match.

Read more about the chaos in Kerkrade and the party at Willem II in the article below:

The scenarios were clear in advance. Numbers one and two were promoted and leader Willem II was certain if it did not lose at Dordrecht. Number two Roda JC could promote Telstar if they won against Cambuur and if they lost against number three FC Groningen.

Things quickly went wrong for Groningen in Velsen-Zuid. Zakaria Eddahchouri of all people, who was in the spotlight of FC Groningen in January, scored the 1-0 after 45 seconds on a pass from Thomas Oude Kotte.

Dick Lukkien’s team did not recover from that blow for a long time. Telstar remained the better team, had the better chances and with Ronald Koeman in the stands, Ronald Koeman junior had little to do on goal.

William II also had a hard time in Dordrecht. Jeredy Hilterman had a chance, but shot hard at defender John Hilton, so hard that the ball exploded. In the 28th minute the goal was scored at the other end. Shiloh ‘t Zand scored nicely from distance for Dordrecht.

In Kerkrade, Roda JC was stronger than Cambuur, but no goals were scored in the first half. With the halftime scores at FC Dordrecht – Willem II (1-0), Roda JC – SC Cambuur (0-0) and Telstar – FC Groningen (1-0), Willem II was virtually assured of promotion despite the deficit.

In the second half, Groningen failed to turn the tide for a long time and Telstar remained the most dangerous team. In Kerkrade, Sami Ouaissa broke the spell in the 65th minute. He got the ball on the edge of the penalty area and shot into the short corner.

It was an important goal for the Limburgers, who, like Willem II, virtually reached 75 points and, with FC Groningen virtually on 71, would be certain of promotion.

Willem II came closer to the equalizer against Dordrecht. A shot by Ringo Meerveld was saved by goalkeeper Luca Plogman and in the 74th minute the Tilburg team were awarded a penalty after a foul by Leo Seydoux on Rob Nizet.

An excellent opportunity for Hilterman, but goalkeeper Plogman made a competent save, also on the rebound. Meanwhile, Vaclav Sejk provided some relief in Kerkrade with the 2-0 for Roda JC. Now all we had to do was wait for a possible goal for FC Groningen.

In injury time, Michael de Leeuw provided certainty for Willem II. The substitute equalized and the Tilburg team was therefore not dependent on the other fields. In Kerkrade we continued to wait for developments in Velsen-Zuid.

Thom van Bergen beautifully headed in the 1-1 for FC Groningen in the 95th minute. The goal brought ecstasy to the fans of FC Groningen and, after the facts became clear in the unprecedented chaotic scenes afterwards in Kerkrade, disappointment to Roda JC.