The Eagles reached the next round of the cup tournament by eliminating Sparta. After regular time and a bad match, penalties had to decide, with Ayoub Oufkir shooting the last equalizing penalty high over De Busser’s goal.
Paul Simonis had made a number of adjustments to his team compared to the hectic match against Utrecht. Julius Dirksen and Aske Adelgaard were allowed to make an appearance in the Eagles’ defense, while Finn Stokkers had a starting position as a striker. Jari de Busser made his debut for the Eagles as a goalkeeper.
First chances
Although Sparta had made even more changes to the starting eleven, the Eagles were unable to take control of the match. Sparta took the initiative and created the first opportunities. Brym already had this in the 10th gradee minute to open the score after an excellent corner, but saw his header disappear over the goal.
Restless in the initial phase
The Eagles were unable to gain control of the match, and the changed defense showed itself unsettled in the early stages of the first half. Not until 15e minute was the first clear chance, with Olliver Edvardson heading over after a cross from Deijl. In the remainder of the first half, Sparta remained the dominant party, but did not create any clear-cut opportunities.
In the 31e minute the Eagles unexpectedly took the lead after an excellently played attack. Linthorst gave a careful pass to Breum, who managed to score from the turn.
Sparta starts, Simonis intervenes
In the second half, Sparta came out of the dressing room more fiercely, but could not make a fist. But the Eagles also did not reach the level of the match against Utrecht and were unable to intercept the falling ball. In the 55e Simonis intervened in a minute by making a double substitution, both Nauber and Dean James came on for Dirksen and Adelgaard. Although the match became more balanced, the Eagles were still unable to escape the pressure from Sparta.
Press the target
In the 74e Sparta got rewarded for their work in a minute with a goal from Brym, after a pass from Nassoh. Maurice Steijn’s team was already playing 1-on-1 at that time, which kept the pressure on De Busser’s goal. But because the castle team also made a lot of mistakes, it did not provide any real opportunities. Simonis also brought in Adekanye, Milan Smit and Mathis Suray, but that did not improve the Eagles’ game. Adekanye was unable to make any progress and suffered from cramps later in the match.
In the final seconds of the match, Suray was close to winning, but saw his bet taken off the line by Baas.
Extension
The extra time was a continuation of the second half in which the Eagles were unable to make a fist and Sparta continued to make too many mistakes, which almost inevitably resulted in the match ending in penalties. The fear of conceding a goal was too great for both teams.
Penalties decide
Ultimately, penalties had to decide. Mats Deijl, Milan Smit, Mathis Suray, Enric LLansana and Dean James shot the penalty kicks flawlessly. Sparta’s first four were just as impeccable, but it was Ayoub Oufkir who fired the ball high allowing the Eagles to convert further.
Below are the interviews that regional channel Salland1 had with Paul Simonis and Joris Kramer and a photo report made by Henny Meijerink.
