The desired shock effect after the resignation of trainer Peter Maes was omitted at Willem II. The Tilburgers led more than 80 minutes at NEC on Saturday at NEC, but in the final phase the home club came to the same level. The game was temporarily quiet due to a serious injury with NEC midfielder Dirk Proper and then a medical emergency in a grandstand.
We had to wait and see how Willem II would respond after a rather hectic week because of the departure of the Belgian trainer. His temporary successor Kristof Aelbrecht wants to see guts and initiative with his team in advance. The Tilburgers took that initiative immediately and within 30 seconds it was already hit. Emilio Kehrer gave the right flank and Calvin Verdonk then worked the ball behind his own goalkeeper Robin Roefs: 0-1.
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Wilem II played fresh, but sloppy. With a little more rest on the ball and overview, more had been possible against the weak home team. NEC still had a few nice possibilities, but Thomas Didillon-Hödl proved to be an excellent goalkeeper.
The moment the football fans will remember was the apparently serious injury with NEC midfielder Dirk Proper. He came into contact with teammate Koki Ogawa at an air duel and remained on the turf. Players from both clubs went on clean and the medical staff and then a screen was set up. Eventually he was worn off the field by stretcher. His health is now doing well. Shortly after this interruption, the game was temporarily stopped again, then due to a medical emergency in the stands.
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Twice on the bar
In the second half, the game only released around the 70th minute. First it was substitute Amar Fatah who shot a chance wildly. Then the Tilburgers got away well when Bryan Linssen shot next to Didillon-Hödl a little later. The French goalkeeper was also lucky that a header by Thomas Ouwejan ended up on the crossbar.
In minute 74 it was on the other side again Fatah who was dangerous, but through the body of Roefs his bet centimeters went wide. The game waved up and down, because a few minutes later Willem II escaped again when the bar prevented the 1-1 from Kodai Sano.
Equalizer
Willem II collapsed in the final phase under the Nijmegen pressure. Kento Shiogai managed to score and given the previously missed opportunities, the equalizer was justified. The audience in the Goffert Stadium went full, but it was the guests who were close to the victory. Attacker Nick Doodeman was able to play out within the sixteen -meter area, but mowed over the ball. In the last minutes there were chances on both sides, but the 1-1 remained on the scoreboard.
Willem II is therefore still waiting for the first victory of 2025. With three more duels to go, direct enforcement is virtually impossible and the Tilburgers have to hope that the bottom two teams RKC Waalwijk and Almere City FC will not get closer.