From the first to the last minute it was a swirling crowd in the Rat Verlegh Stadium in Breda. AZ kept a cool head and turned a 1-0 deficit into a 1-2 win in the second half. Goldcrest Mees de Wit headed home in extra time: “According to the trainer, I had to pay attention to the second ball.”
AZ coach Maarten Martens had mixed up his starting eleven quite a bit. No fewer than four new names, including Mees de Wit, were allowed to start in Breda: “We have a good selection. With so many matches it can sometimes be too much for some boys,” said the trainer. Naturally, the defender himself was happy with his starting spot: “You would like to play here. The NAC evening is special.”
For a long time, the Alkmaar formation had little to gain from hectic Breda: “We should have done better in the first half. NAC did better than us,” Maarten Martens analyzes.
Substitutes important
At halftime, the Belgian AZ coach intervened by making no fewer than three changes. Jordy Clasie, Mayckel Lahdo and Wouter Goes joined the team. Captain Clasie was particularly important as a director: “You hope that the substitutes will give a boost. Fortunately, that happened,” Martens exults.
The victory puts AZ firmly in the sub-top with 29 points after 16 games. Next Wednesday, the team from Alkmaar will play against FC Groningen in the KNVB Cup.