NAC made a stunt in the cup tournament on Wednesday evening by reaching the quarterfinals. Eredivisionist PEC Zwolle was set aside 2-1 in Breda. Kaj de Rooij was the celebrated man on Breda’s side.
Cup evenings often guarantee spectacle in Breda. And NAC and PEC Zwolle showed that in the opening phase of the match. Within thirteen minutes, two goals had already been scored in the Rat Verlegh Stadium.
In the first ten minutes, PEC Zwolle NAC was completely lost. It was like eleven lampposts against eleven street football players. It was therefore no surprise that the people of Zwolle took the lead early on. It was Mustafa Saymak who scored the opening goal.
It seemed to be a long evening, but the team from Breda equalized after thirteen minutes. Newcomer Naoufal Bannis scored after strongman Thom Haye single-handedly set up an attack: 1-1.
NAC escapes
NAC’s goal came out of the blue, but that didn’t stop PEC from continuing what it started with. It was the much better game and NAC’s defense seemed as leaky as a basket.
That the home team reached the break with a 1-1 score was thanks to former NAC player Gervane Kastaneer. The attacker missed a chance. In addition, the role of Nick Olij should not remain underexposed. The goalkeeper managed to make a save time and again.
Banished
After the break, NAC got a little more grip on the game. After an hour, the home side had the perfect opportunity to take the lead. The recipe was the same as for the equalizer. Haye gave in and Bannis almost managed to shoot the ball over the goal line. An opportunity that was not to be missed.
On the other hand, substitute Slobodan Tedic and Eliano Reijnder were close to scoring. PEC got the better of the game towards the end of the game, but extra time seemed imminent.
Nice performance
Until then, it was not at all Kaj de Rooij’s match. But you often only need to hit one ball well to become the hero of the evening. That’s what the attacker born in Best did. He got the ball from substitute Odysseus Velanas and rode it into the short corner behind goalkeeper Kostas Lamprou.
Again a goal that came out of the blue, let alone that anyone expected De Rooij to score. But no one in Breda and the surrounding area will dwell on that for too long. Despite the fact that the Zwolle players still came dangerously in front of the goal, it remained 2-1.
Another stunt
And so NAC again defeated an Eredivisionist in the KNVB Cup. In the previous cup round, the Breda residents were too strong for FC Utrecht. A great performance by the number nine of the Kitchen Champion Division, although the yellow-blacks were lucky on Wednesday evening.
In the quarterfinals, NAC plays an away match against RKC, NEC or the winners of PSV – Telstar and Ajax – Excelsior Maasluis. The draw is Saturday.
