FC Groningen left empty-handed for the first time in a while after an eventful evening in Dordrecht

The memories of the previous meeting with FC Dordrecht were certainly good in the FC Groningen camp. Although the score was ‘only’ 2-2 in Euroborg on November 5 last year, the match did mark the resurrection of Dick Lukkien’s team, which had been operating extremely poorly until then.

For the first time, the trainer fielded the young attacking quartet from his own training that increasingly gave FC Groningen wings in the subsequent matches. It was not entirely coincidental that the arrival of Jorg Schreuders, Luciano Valente, Thom van Bergen and Romano Postema in the front line also signaled the start of the long series of thirteen unbeaten games, which equaled the club record.

Own weapons

The fact that the record was not broken on Friday evening at the Krommedijk in Dordrecht was mainly due to the qualities of the home team. FC Groningen was certainly not able to play the same successful game as in previous weeks against the fast, agile team of coach Pascal Bosschaart. In fact, the northerners were hit with their own weapons. The Dordrecht team put pressure early and was quick, meaning that Lukkien’s men hardly had time to play football.

In addition, FC Groningen fell behind very early. The match was barely two minutes old when fierce FC Dordrecht forced Marco Rente to give away a corner kick. This immediately proved fatal for the northerners. At the back of the penalty area, Dordrecht right back Ilias Bronkhorst was able to work the ball completely freely. A major setback.

Bengal fire

Although the start of the Groningers was not something to write home about, their own supporters did not make things much better a little later. Immediately after the goal, the accompanying supporters of FC Groningen started lighting one pink torch after another in the away section. There was no end to the Bengali fire, with the question being how on earth the accompanying supporters had smuggled the fireworks into the stadium, despite the presence of dozens of police officers.

The flares caused enormous smoke in the stadium. It will result in FC Groningen receiving another hefty fine. Referee Richard Martens had no choice but to temporarily stop the game. The match was stopped for more than twenty minutes. When peace was restored, both teams picked up the thread again.

Decisiveness limited

FC Dordrecht remained the parent party even after the resumption. While the home club had four opportunities to extend its lead, including through Austrian top scorer Rene Kriwak, FC Groningen’s decisiveness was limited to a shot by Joey Pelupessy in the short corner, a half bicycle kick by Romano Postema and a roller. by Luciano Valente.

One thing could not be denied to Lukkien’s team, the Groningers continued to fight until the last breath. In the hunt for the equalizer, Marvin Peersman had the biggest chance in the second half from a corner. The free header opportunity was wasted on the central defender, his weak effort ended up wide of the goal. On the other side of the field, goalkeeper Hidde Jurjus kept FC Groningen in the race with a few good saves.

Record

In the final phase, Dick Lukkien, with Fofin Turay and Kian Slor, brought even more forwards into the already extremely attacking team in an attempt to take home another point and secure the record of fourteen unbeaten matches. It wasn’t meant to be. In an increasingly messy match, the northerners no longer created opportunities. For the first time since October 29, when they lost to Cambuur, the northerners were empty-handed again.