What a beautiful ‘night of NAC’ in the Rat Verlegh Stadium could have become an evening without too much fun for the Breda supporters. Where there was more to the loss against Ajax last week, NAC will go down with 1-2 against FC Groningen on Friday evening, after a crazy ending.
Earlier in the day, NAC presented the new out -avenue in collaboration with DJ Tiësto. A black shirt with an ode to ‘night of NAC’, in which the name of the Breda DJ is even incorporated in the shirt. Tiësto was even allowed to walk onto the field together with the players and referees.
For the kick -off, another minute of silence was held for the recently deceased Tim Meeùs. A man who held a lot of positions within NAC. From chairman to main sponsor. He was 95 years old.
Chess
Where a lot happened for the premier league match, it was not too bad during the start of the match. It seemed like a kind of chess game in which both teams kept the most important pieces in the organization. Yet two goals fell. One in every goal, but neither counted. They were rejected due to offside.
After half an hour, NAC, apart from the rejected goal, barely came for the goal of FC Groningen keeper Etienne Vaessen. Groningen insisted a little more and the audience in Breda stopped before the break.
In minute 34 it was Tika the Jonge who put the 0-1 on the board with a dry slider of 25 meters over the wet field. Nice fact: De Jonge came out for the youth teams of NAC, but made the switch to Groningen before he made it first. NAC was not involved in the first half.
Short to rest there was finally the first shot on the goal of ‘De Pearel of the South’. Only Frederik Oldrup Jensen headed the ball straight at the Waalwijk closing post of FC Groningen. For a moment the hope for an equalizer in Breda seemed to disappear, a shot by Groningen captain Stijste Resink seemed to go to the top corner, but Daniel Belica prevented that with a wonderful salvation.
End of story
Less than two minutes later, the curtain fell into the Rat Verlegh Stadium. Etienne Vaessen sent Thom van Bergen in the counter. He received the ball around the center line, but after a solo managed to get the ball in the Breda goal and to make it 0-2.
After a number of points from Carl Hoefkens, NAC got better in the game. Charles-Andres Brym became dangerous a number of times and a header from Boy Kemper missed just some precision.
Hope back
NAC became stronger by the minute and when the fourth official Boyd’s board of Kommer showed nine minutes of extra time, there was some cheers in the stands. And that resulted in Mohamed Nassoh’s connection goal. The feeling in the stadium was completely back and NAC even went for the 2-2. It almost seemed to fall, but Cherrion Valerius hit the bar.
Despite the rain, it was not because of the atmosphere. FC Groningen was a lot better for the first sixty minutes, but the NAC fans will have the feeling that there is more to it now. After eight games, NAC is on seven points. After the international match, a match against PEC Zwolle awaits. A competition to be won to stay above the relegation line.