AZ has booked a great victory over Go Ahead Eagles. In Deventer, the Alkmaarders won 4-1 against the longest unbeaten team in the Netherlands. Pavlidis, Mihailovic, Sugawara and Buurmeester scored for AZ. Because of this result, the difference with Feyenoord in the ranking remains two points in favor of the team from Rotterdam.
Without the injured Dani de Wit, AZ took on the team with the longest unbeaten run in the premier league. Go Ahead Eagles had not lost eleven games prior to the game. Even without the injured Sam Beukema and Bruno Martins Indi, the Alkmaarders knew that it would be quite a challenge at the Adelaarshorst.
Because the home team started opportunistically, AZ found it difficult to build up. The long ball was often used from the back and Go Ahead forced some small chances. After the first thirty minutes had passed, coach Pascal Jansen’s team got more and more grip on the game. That resulted in opportunities via Jens Odgaard and Tijjani Reijnders, but goalkeeper Jeffrey de Lange kept his goal clean. He failed to answer in the 38th minute when Vangelis Pavlidis came in front of his man at the near post to make it 1-0.
Extend
In the second half, AZ managed to double the score within fifteen minutes. Yukinari Sugawara was again the principal, but this time winter acquisition Djordje Mihailovic headed the ball against the ropes: 0-2. The attacking midfielder replaced De Wit and scored his first goal in the shirt of the Alkmaarders. Pavlidis scored his second goal a few minutes later. After a great solo on the back line, he encountered De Lange.
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Neighborhood master
Pantelis Hatzidiakos also saw his header deflected by the Go Ahead Eagles goalkeeper. However, De Lange had no answer to Yukinari Sugawara’s effort. The Japanese, who had already given two assists, was now the final destination and he closed the game: 0-3. In injury time, the same Sugawara gave a penalty as a gift. It was used by Willum Willumsson, but that was much too late to make AZ shake. Substitute Zico Buurmeester decided the final score at 4-1 in favor of the Alkmaarders. And that meant the first goal for the midfielder from Egmond.
Feyenoord won 2-0 against NEC later in the evening, so that AZ only briefly took the lead in the Eredivisie. Next weekend, the Alkmaarders will play at home against FC Utrecht on Saturday at 9 p.m. That is also the opponent in the KNVB Cup. That match will be played in Alkmaar on Tuesday, February 7.
Setup AZ: Ryan; Sugawara, Hatzidiakos, Vanheusden, Kerkez; Clasie, Reijnders, Mihailovic; Odgaard, Pavlidis, Karlsson