Saturday, August 31, 2024 at 6:27 PM
FC Groningen drew 1-1 against Almere City on Saturday afternoon in Almere. The Pride of the North was 1-0 behind at half-time. Leandro Bacuna scored the equalizer after the break. FC goes into the international break with 8 points from 4 matches and is still undefeated.
The meeting with Almere City was on the program for the first time in the history of FC. The team from Flevoland was the 109th opponent in the club history for the Pride of the North. FC Groningen was supported in Almere by a full away section with 400 supporters who had mostly responded to the call of the Noordtribune Groningen and had traveled in green.
FC Groningen looked for the way forward in the initial phase and that immediately resulted in two corner kicks. However, the first big chances were for the home team. After 7 minutes of play, Finn Stam blocked an effort from Baptiste Guillaume who tried from close range. A minute later, the Almere striker did score and the Belgian put Groningen behind for the first time this season, 1-0.
The Flevolanders could have put the Groningers at a bigger deficit after fifteen minutes of play, but Kornelius Hansen was blocked twice by the FC defence after a long cross at the far post. The Pride of the North had the ball for the most part before half-time, but could not convert this possession into scoring opportunities. Tika de Jonge shot over the goal after half an hour of play and the crosses from the sides did not reach the strikers. As a result, FC went into half-time with a deficit of 1-0.
FC did get a good chance to equalize early in the second half. Captain Leandro Bacuna was freed on the right and his cross was headed in by Romano Postema. The striker, who made his debut in the first team of FC Groningen exactly five years ago, sent the header into the far corner and hit the post.
Fifteen minutes after the break it was Thom van Bergen who, like in every match, continued to chase the opponent with energy. The striker got the ball shot against him by the keeper, after which it flew towards the empty goal, but ended up next to the post.
Just like before half-time, FC Groningen had the ball frequently, but had to watch out for the home team’s counterattack. The fast substitute Junior Kadile created danger and regularly dived into the space behind the FC defence.
The difference with the first half was that FC was able to convert the possession into scoring opportunities after the break. The Groningers came to an equal score with a quarter of the match to go. Marvin Peersman gave a measured cross to the advanced Bacuna, after which the captain nodded in right in front of the goal, 1-1.
The last fifteen minutes were spent searching for the hole in the red wall that had settled in front of Almere City’s goal. Where FC Groningen had many players on the field who had a past at Sportpark Corpus den Hoorn, someone else in the Almere City shirt joined them in the final phase. Guus Beaumont completed a large part of the FC-Opleiding and came on as a substitute for the home team.
In injury time, goal scorer Bacuna received a loose ball just outside the penalty area, but the Curaçao international shot too wildly, causing the ball to fly over. Substitute Thijs Oosting also fired at the goal once more. His effort went between the posts, but into the hands of the keeper. As a result, the score remained 1-1 in Almere. Voting for the King of the Match is possible until Monday 09:00 via:
FC Groningen will play Feyenoord at home after the international break on Saturday 14 September. Kick-off is at 18:45. The match in Euroborg is already completely sold out. Tickets are only available via the card market. Tickets for the home match against Go Ahead Eagles – on Sunday 29 September, kick-off at 2.30 pm – are still available through regular sales via
