A wonderful cup battle in Tilburg earned FC Groningen a ticket to the next round on Tuesday evening. With a lot of effort, the northerners defeated Willem II 1-3.
How seriously do you take the cup? It was not a difficult question for Dick Lukkien to answer in the run-up to the away match against Willem II. As assistant to head coach Erwin van de Looi, he was there on that historic day in 2015, when FC Groningen won the only prize in club history. “A wonderful tournament, we really want to win,” the Veendammer coach emphasized once again just before kick-off.
Status Blokzijl
The coach therefore prepared the best material he had available. Lukkien did not have access to Johan Hove and Radinio Balker. The former was replaced by Laros Duarte, while the better-reported Marco Rente took Balker’s place in the heart of the defense. Leandro Bacuna remained at right back after his good turn against MVV. It meant that Thijmen Blokzijl once again missed an opportunity for a starting place in Tilburg. It said something about the status that the 18-year-old revelation from last season currently has in Lukkien’s selection.
Willem II coach Peter Maes seemed to have a very different approach to the match than his Groningen colleague. The refined Belgian kept many strong players aside, changed his team in six positions and even introduced a debutant with 18-year-old Khaled Razak. “I expect that our substitutes will not cause much decline,” Maes expressed his confidence in his fantasy formation beforehand.
Knife to the throat
That seemed to turn out a bit differently, because FC Groningen put a knife to the throat of the leader of the first division in the first half. The northerners put an enormous amount of energy into their game and put full pressure on it. Willem II did not get around to building up and barely even had time to receive a ball in the opening phase. There was always a Groninger in front of them who quickly took over possession of the ball.
The first exploits were logically for the northerners. Valente tried it in the third minute from about 20 meters with a shot, but it was tapped just wide by Willem II goalkeeper Connor van den Berg. It turned out to be an exercise in warming up for the young Groningen man with Italian roots, because about twenty minutes later he scored beautifully from approximately the same position.
In the intersection
It was a fine interception from Leandro Bacuna on the right that preceded Valente’s opening goal. The wing defender initially surrendered to Romano Postema. He got stuck, but the ball stayed where he was, so Valente didn’t think twice and took a decisive shot. The ball disappeared beautifully into the intersection.
Willem II was not able to do much in return before half time. That changed in the second half, when the pressure from the home club increased and FC Groningen keeper Hidde Jurjus had to save a shot from Matthias Verreth. Yet FC Groningen did not leave its mark in this phase either. A shot by Wouter Prins was saved by the Tilburg closing post, Postema was close with a header and Jorg Schreuders also had a good chance. Laros Duarte was also allowed to shoot from the edge of the penalty area, but the ball went millimeters wide.
Wonderful shot
A little later, Willem II came to the same level. It was Joey Pelupessy and Marco Rente who could not keep Erik Schouten and had to allow the substitute to pass. Jurjus had no chance. With the score 1-1, both teams did not hold back. The game went back and forth in the King Willem II stadium, where FC Groningen took the lead again fifteen minutes before the end. The incoming Duarte was served with a smart pass from Jorg Schreuders. The midfielder followed up with a wonderfully accurate shot: 1-2.
A short time later, FC Groningen ended the match. Referee Bas Nijhuis pointed to the spot after Romano Postema was tackled illegally to the referee’s taste. The striker shot in a controlled shot through the middle from eleven meters. It meant that Lukkien’s wish came true. FC Groningen will be there during the draw, knowing that there are also amateur clubs in the pipeline.