Heracles Almelo booked a great away win against NEC on Saturday evening. In Nijmegen it became 1-2 for the Heraclieden. The goals were scored by Mario Engels and Luka Kulenovic.
Supported by a sold-out away section, Heracles Almelo started the traditionally difficult away match in Nijmegen with a bang. With barely 120 seconds left on the clock, the ball was already in the net behind NEC goalkeeper Stijn van Gassel. Suf Podgoreanu came up on the right flank and swung the ball in front of the Nijmegen goal. Van Gassel hit the ball straight into the feet of Mario Engels and the German attacker did not miss this golden opportunity: 0-1.
And Heracles Almelo continued. Where Fabian de Keijzer was very important twice and kept attempts from Önal and Hansen out of his goal, Erwin van de Looi’s team struck again after fifteen minutes of play. A recapture of possession in midfield gave Brian de Keersmaecker the opportunity to give a low cross to Luka Kulenovic. The striker, who came over from the Czech Slovan Liberec this summer, finished off with great force and doubled the lead with his first goal in Almelo.
The tempo of the match was high and both teams managed to create the necessary chances. Through Calvin Verdonk and Koki Ogawa, the home team came close to the equalizer at the stroke of half an hour, but they were not yet able to break through the Almelo defense. In this phase, NEC mostly had possession of the ball, but the Nijmegen team were not yet able to express this in goals. The biggest chance for NEC to make the connecting goal came through Dirk Proper, when the midfielder had a good header opportunity. However, his header sailed just past De Keijzer’s goal.
Eventually, NEC managed to make the connecting goal before referee Kamphuis ended the first half. On the stroke of half-time, Koki Ogawa headed the first goal for NEC onto the scoreboard. His header from Rober Gonzalez’s corner kick ended up behind De Keijzer via the back of De Keersmaecker.
High intensity
In the second half, NEC seemed to come out of the dressing room on top, because the team of trainer Rogier Meijer took the initiative and quickly became dangerous. An attack on the right wing brought Hansen into shooting position, but De Keijzer made a great save with a great reflex and maintained the lead for the Heraclieden. A few minutes later, the Almelo players started playing more football and Heracles Almelo put the home team under pressure. Kulenovic became dangerous, but his attempt from the edge of the penalty area was saved by goalkeeper Van Gassel. Damon Mirani and Brian de Keersmaecker became dangerous after a corner kick by Daniël van Kaam, but they also met a NEC player who was in the path of the attempt each time.
Like the first half, the second half was one of high intensity. The pace was murderous and the game flowed back and forth. The biggest chance to score was for substitute Juho Talvitie. The Finnish winger took a hard shot from eighteen meters towards Stijn van Gassel’s goal, but he hit the crossbar.
In the final phase of the match, Jizz Hornkamp made his comeback after a long injury. He replaced Luka Kulenovic in the last fifteen minutes. The substitute striker had a good chance to celebrate his comeback with a goal just before the end, but unfortunately that was not to be.
NEC – Heracles Almelo: 1-2
2. Mario Engels (0-1)
14. Luka Kulenovic (0-2)
45. Koki Ogawa (1-2)
Yellow cards: Ivan Mesik, Bram Nuytinck, Ruben Roosken, Ivan Marquez, Daniël van Kaam, Mario Engels, Dirk Proper.
NEC line-up: Van Gassel, Pereira, Marquez, Nuytinck (46. Ouwejan), Verdonk, Hoedemakers (77. Schone), Proper, Önal, Gonazález (46. Ouaissa), Ogawa, Hansen (68. Shiogai)
Heracles Almelo line-up: : Benita, Mirani, Mesik (46. Hoogma), Roosken (46. Milani), De Keersmaecker, Van Kaam, ‘t Zand, Engels (85. Bruijn), Kulenovic (76. Hornkamp), Podgoreanu (71. Talvitie)
