FC Groningen is alive again after resounding victory in basement squatter against Excelsior | Premier League

It was old-fashioned in the Euroborg this afternoon. The relegation clash with Excelsior became a party for Groningen that was longed for for months. Suddenly the low flyer is once again fully involved in the hunt for survival. The Pride of the North was taunted for weeks and increasingly written off, but now only need four points to break above the relegation zone. Excelsior is currently number fifteen there with twenty points, but the Rotterdammers now feel the hot breath of Groningen and also FC Emmen in the neck.

It logically led to a lot of merriment in the Euroborg, where the public was hardly spoiled for months. Groningen recorded its first win against Excelsior since October 23, when PSV was defeated 4-2. The home team took the lead this afternoon after nine minutes via Johan Hove. The Norwegian midfielder completed a nice attack in a controlled way. It was his team’s first serious achievement.

In the subsequent phase, it was mainly Groningen that insisted. Via former Excelsior player Elvis Manu, Groningen had an imposed chance to double the score after half an hour, but the attacker failed face to face with Stijn van Gassel. The keeper kept the team from Rotterdam going before the break anyway. Groningen top scorer Ricardo Pepi appeared in front of him twice, but Van Gassel kept the damage pretty limited.

However, it turned out to be a stay of execution for Excelsior. Groningen was the dominant team and expressed this once again in the score after 50 minutes of play. Three times was a charm for Pepi, who simply cut out his direct opponent Serano Seymor and successfully sought the far corner. With that, the American signed for his ninth goal of the season.

Pepi hit the post on behalf of Groningen a few minutes later, where former international Jetro Willems made his debut as a substitute after the break. The third goal came after 66 minutes. Liam van Gelderen shot the ball hard into the roof of the goal. With that he determined the final score at 3-0.

Excelsior itself hardly had any chances to score. Significant: the team from Rotterdam shot zero times between the posts. With a header from Lazaros Lamprou, who went wide, Excelsior was closest to an answer to the Groningen dominance shortly after the break. It caused code red at Excelsior, which awaits a tough battle for survival in the coming months. At Groningen, the smile returned somewhat.