06 april 2024 – 18:41
Sparta was unable to beat Heracles Almelo on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The visitors were too strong and won 1-2. After a good match at Het Kasteel against Fortuna Sittard (4-0) and against Vitesse in Arnhem (1-4), Sparta is in ninth place in the Eredivisie. The visitors from Almelo are in thirteenth place in the rankings and played away against FC Twente (1-0) and at home against AZ (5-0) last week. This meant that the match on Saturday was the end of a triptych match in one week for both teams.
One change was made at Sparta compared to the match against Vitesse. Chalers-Andreas Brym replaced the injured Tobias Lauritsen at striker. Heracles coach Erwin van der Looi also had to make a change compared to the match against AZ: Kelvin Leerdam replaced the suspended Brian de Keersmaecker in midfield.
After fifteen minutes of football, the home team was the stronger of the two. Sparta had the vast majority of ball possession, but this did not yet lead to great opportunities. The visitors also did not manage to cause much danger in the first fifteen minutes. In the 17th minute, a shot by Koki Saito went over the goal of Heracles keeper Micheal Brouwer.
The next Sparta opportunity came in the 32nd minute. Arno Verschueren received a pass from his own half in the Heracles penalty area. The midfielder fired a shot that was blocked. Shortly after this, Shunsuke Mito also caused danger. The Japanese’s shot forced Micheal Brouwer to make his first save of the afternoon. In the 36th minute, Koki Saito’s attempt was also blocked by the Heracles defense. The hunt for the 1-0 was now really on.
The pushing and chasing for the lead paid off in the 43rd minute. A good through ball from Pelle Clement reaches Charles-Andreas Brym. The striker did not miss a beat and scored the 1-0 at Het Kasteel a few minutes before half-time. Three minutes after the goal, the teams went into the locker room for halftime.
Enjoying the 1-0 lead did not last long. After halftime, Heracles got a free kick in the 48th minute. Marko Vejinovic passed the ball to Justin Hoogma who cleverly headed in the 1-1. The visitors became much stronger after this early equalizer. Heracles simply passed the ball around and had a lot of possession. When Sparta had the ball, Jeroen Rijsdijk’s team found it difficult to play under the pressure of Heracles.
The first chance for Sparta came in the 58th minute. Arno Verschueren shot from outside the Almelo penalty area, but his effort went wide. Shortly afterwards, Djevencio van der Kust managed to get the ball to Koki Saito. The winger shot at Brouwer’s goal, who managed to save the ball. After these opportunities, Sparta also got more control of the ball and started attacking more. Some crosses and corners followed, but it did not come from a second Spartan goal. Jeroen Rijsdijk made his first substitution in the 66th minute. Shunsuke Mito was replaced by Camiel Neghli.
Sparta seemed to pick itself up and the home team was again on the hunt for a lead. But in the 73rd minute it was the visitors who made it 1-2. After a through ball, Mario Engels managed to turn away from Mike Eerdhuijzen, after which the former Spartan gave a pass to Jizz Hornkamp who scored the second Heracles goal of the afternoon.
Sparta became dangerous from a corner ten minutes before the end of the match. Arno Verschueren’s shot was blocked after which Metinho made an attempt that went high over Brouwer’s goal. Just before the end of regular time, Nick Olij made an important save in a one-on-one situation with Mohamed Sankoh, preventing the 1-3. Eight minutes of extra playing time were then added, but this was not allowed for Sparta. It remained 1-2. The next match is the away match against Almere City next Saturday.
Sparta Rotterdam setup
Nick Olij, Said Bakari (83′ Rayvien Rosario), Bart Vriends (83′ Rick Meissen), Mike Eerdhuijzen (89′ Tijs Velthuis), Djevencio van der Kust, Metinho (83′ Jonathan de Guzmán), Shunsuke Mito (66′ Camiel Neghli), Pelle Clement, Charles-Andreas Brym, Arno Verschueren, Koki Saito.
