William II has been demoted. On Sunday afternoon, it did what it had to do against FC Utrecht to avoid relegation to the Kitchen Champion Division (3-0), but was still dependent on other results in the event of a victory. And those were not favorable for the Tilburg team, as a result of which it finishes seventeenth this season and disappears from the Eredivisie.
There were many scenarios on Sunday that Willem II fans had to take into account. Enforcement, a playoff spot and relegation were all possible with one game left to play. With a defeat against FC Utrecht, relegation was a fact in any case, with a win, the results at Fortuna Sittard and Sparta Rotterdam would have to be looked at.
Supported by the fanatic fans, who welcomed the players’ bus with lots of singing and fireworks at the stadium two hours before the game, Willem II started the game well. After eight minutes that resulted in the 1-0. Jizz Hornkamp was alert when Eric Oelschlägel couldn’t handle a ball well, the striker then worked the rebound against the ropes. At that moment, the ‘looking big’ immediately started in the stands. The standings on the other fields were at least as important as what happened on their own field.
Decision in Tilburg
Also in the second half, Willem II scored after eight minutes of play. Driess Saddiki pecked the ball in hard. The goal was received with great cheers. The positions on the other fields gave less cause for joy at that time. Both Fortuna Sittard and Sparta Rotterdam had a 1-0 lead, so that the Tricolores were still virtually under the line.
With twenty minutes left on the clock, Sparta made a second goal against Heracles Almelo, so that Tilburg’s hopes were only based on NEC against Fortuna Sittard. The FC Utrecht supporters started cheering when Sparta scored and started to sing ‘whoever doesn’t jump relegates’, the fans of Willem II reacted excellently to that. They went back to their own team. Willem II even made it 3-0 via an own goal by Joris van Overeem. However, it didn’t change the situation.
Relegation
At the end of the game, many supporters looked more at the phone than at the field. Looking hopeful at the standings in Nijmegen. But the redeeming message of a NEC goal did not come. “Leo, can you put Fortuna on that?” That is what a supporter shouts to Leo Alkemade, who is sitting a little higher near a screen. The answer is no. He holds his phone up in the air, where the standings can be seen. It’s nerve-wracking for the fans.
With six minutes left on the clock, the King Willem II Stadium exploded. A goal in Nijmegen? It looked like it, because nothing happened on the field that could cause such a discharge. The joy then quickly turned into questioning faces, because that 1-1 was not shown on the screen with anyone. That liberating and crucial 1-1 was and was not made in Nijmegen, so that for Willem II, despite the great victory over FC Utrecht, relegation is a fact.