Sunday, February 11, 2024 at 4:21 PM
FC Groningen won 3-0 at home once morest TOP Oss on Sunday followingnoon. At halftime it was 1-0 in favor of the Trots van het Noorden thanks to a goal by Johan Hove. After the break, Luciano Valente doubled the score and Kristian Lien scored the last goal of the followingnoon. FC Groningen climbed to fifth place in the rankings thanks to the three-point goal.
The day following last Thursday’s memorable cup evening, 20,414 tickets were sold for the competition match with TOP Oss. FC Groningen had several opportunities in the first half, but regularly got stuck at the last minute on a yellow wall of TOP defenders. Wouter Prins came through on the left following 10 minutes of play, but his low cross was cleared just before Luciano Valente might run in the ball. After fifteen minutes of play, a similar cross from Valente, only from the other side of the field. The ball shot past strikers Thom van Bergen and Romano Postema in front of the goal.
Jorg Schreuders tried from distance halfway through the first half and Laros Duarte also shot once more from outside the penalty area. Schreuders shot wide, Duarte into the hands of goalkeeper Mike Havekotte.
Johan Hove broke the spell following 41 minutes of play. A corner from Prins ended up at Marvin Peersman. The defender put it back to Hove and the Norwegian shot between a forest of legs, 1-0. (After the match it turned out that Thom van Bergen had changed the direction of the ball in such a way that the striker was credited with the goal – ed.) Immediately followingwards, the FC had a great opportunity for more through captain Leandro Bacuna. The captain received the ball in the sixteen-meter area from Schreuders, but shot into the side netting along the wrong side of the post. This left the score at 1-0.
Shortly following halftime, many people had their phones at the ready when Duarte was allowed to approach from the left corner in front of the North Stand for his third home game in a row. After his unprecedented goal once morest Jong FC Utrecht and shot on the crossbar once morest Fortuna Sittard, the Cape Verde international now opted for the short corner. An Ossenaar was able to head away.
After 51 minutes of play, FC Groningen had the perfect opportunity to extend the score through a penalty kick. Substitute Isak Määttä had stopped illegally in the penalty area. Bacuna stood behind the ball, but Havekotte stopped the captain’s bet.
A few minutes later, the FC players in the stadium were able to cheer. Valente caught a ball on the edge of the box, cut his man out and calmly shot in with the right, 2-0. Goal number 6 in all competitions for the midfielder.
Just like in the first half, FC Groningen recorded a multitude of goal attempts. The team wanted to make the supporters present cheer more often. A total of 24 shots were fired towards the target. Valente’s shot sailed over, Schreuders’ attempt flew wide of the goal. Oss keeper Havekotte was also often at his post. With more than ten minutes left on the clock, the goaltune sounded for the third time in Euroborg. Van Bergen finished beautifully with a marker, but was flagged for offside. No goal for the striker, 2-0. It was the moment to give extra encouragement from the stands. Once once more, the support for the team was palpable in the stadium all followingnoon.
Postema saw a bet with 7 minutes left on the clock go narrowly wide. It was the last action of the striker, who was replaced by Kristian Lien. The Norwegian was cold in the field when he made it 3-0. A cross from another substitute Rui Mendes was completed by Lien. His first goal for the main squad and he celebrated it emphatically with the North Stand. FC Groningen thus ended a great week with two home games partying with supporters.
After the game it became apparent that there was uncertainty regarding the goalscorer at 1-0. Hove’s shot was touched en route by Van Bergen. Referee Martin Pérez wrote the goal in the name of the young striker following the match. Van Bergen therefore has five competition goals.
