FOOTBALL – A horror evening for the ranking and for the feeling. FC Emmen loses 1-4 from Young AZ. Because of the defeat, the Emmenaren drops to the eighth place in the ranking and threatens to get placement for the play-offs out of sight.
The evening became extra painful because direct competitor Telstar managed to win at FC Eindhoven: 0-4. As a result, Telstar now takes over seventh place with 55 points, two more than FC Emmen. That seventh place is essential for participation in the play-offs for promotion to the Eredivisie, and with three games to go it will be a difficult task for the Drenten.
The competition started promising for the home team. Already in the second minute, FC Emmen was close to the opening goal via Robin Schouten, after preparatory work by Jalen Hawkins. Moments later, Nsona also did not like it, his shot flew over.
After fifteen minutes, fate struck for the red and white. Goalkeeper Luca Unbehaun, the usually reliable closing post, made a precious mistake by sliding the ball into the feet of an opponent. Van Duijn benefited and gave Jong AZ ahead: 0-1. It turned out to be a blow of which Emmen no longer recovered for the rest of the evening.
Emmen created a few chances before the break, but an equalizer was not forthcoming. After the break, the team barely managed to get a grip on the game. Young AZ played with guts and opportunism and Rozangelo Daal doubled in the 57th minute: 0-2.
Yet there was still hope for the Emmer supporters. Substitute Freddy Quispel brought the tension back with a fantastic long shot: 1-2. A great moment and a personal highlight for the Emmenaar. The goal gave the audience on the Oude Meerdijk short -lived hope for a turnaround.
In the 74th minute, that hope was pressed by a personal drama. Pascal Mulder worked the ball over its own goal line. The defender wanted to play back on his goalkeeper, but did not realize that Unbehaun was outside his goal. More than 7900 spectators saw how Mulder shot the ball slowly over his own goal line, 1-3. The competition was actually decided by that.
Ten minutes before time, an unnecessary violation by Farris Hammouti also led to a penalty, which was again used by Daal: 1-4. That made the drama complete for FC Emmen.
With three games to play, including an away game against Excelsior on Sunday 27 April, FC Emmen has to chase. The margin is small, but after an evening in which the mistakes piled up and the resilience was missing, the road to the play-offs seems steeper than ever.