Based on a strong first half and an excellent Luciano Valente, FC Groningen took full advantage against Telstar. The northerners have the top spots in the first division in their sights again.
It is now becoming quite a list. After FC Eindhoven, Jong AZ and VVV-Venlo, Telstar was the fourth target in a row for FC Groningen. Four consecutive competition victories have not happened in recent years for the declining northern football pride. The last time such a series was achieved was at the end of 2020, when under coach Danny Buijs Willem II, AZ, RKC Waalwijk and Sparta Rotterdam were successively slaughtered in the Premier League. The series was only interrupted by a cup defeat against FC Emmen.
Football philosophy
FC Groningen finally seems to be on the right track, much to the enthusiasm of the supporters in Euroborg who finally have reason to cheer again. The question remains why it took so long before Dick Lukkien managed to get things his way at FC Groningen. The trainer, who came over from FC Emmen last summer, always needs some time to get a new selection used to his football philosophy, but this time it took much longer than usual before his men could implement how the Veendammer coach had it in mind. .
Looking back, Lukkien has an explanation for it. “We had to deal with too many variable components,” the Veendammer coach analyzes the past few months. “Too many players who were waiting for a transfer for a long time or at least hoped for one. We also had a lot of guys who weren’t as far in the beginning as they are now. Jorg Schreuders is a good example of this. He had a good preparation, but if you see how he has played in recent weeks, it is a huge improvement.”
Best man
The youngster also put in an enormous dose of energy against Telstar, but this time he had to leave the honor of best man of the match to Luciano Valente. The 20-year-old Groningen native, who has a touch of Southern European blood in his veins thanks to his Italian father, was involved in almost all of the home club’s attacks before halftime and also scored both goals in the first half.
In the first, Valente received the ball from the right flank. The attacker towered high above his guard Mitch Apau in the Telstar penalty area and headed beautifully. FC Groningen could have raised the score much higher based on the many chances and possibilities the team had. Ultimately it was Valente who put his words into action. The homegrown talent has not always been happy with his long shots in recent weeks, but goalkeeper Ronald Koeman junior – the son of – had no answer to the shot he fired in the 22nd minute.
Tika the Younger
Valente was also a player who was not yet able to convince the coach at the beginning of the season, but has now become an indispensable part of the regular team that has been working so successfully in recent weeks. “You also have to get to know the players a bit as a technical staff,” Lukkien explains. “That took a while. Some players I didn’t even know at all. Take Tika de Jonge, another boy who is now knocking on the door of the first team. The size of the group also had an influence on this. If the selection had been a little smaller, the process would probably have gone faster.”
If FC Groningen continues on the path it has chosen, you won’t hear anyone about it for too long, although the northerners did sink in the second half against Telstar. Laros Duarte and Joey Pelupessy were no longer able to win balls. Johan Hove, who had the flu, was missed for that task. The home club no longer got the pressure on as before half time, created fewer chances and even had to be vigilant for a few attacks by Telstar. Goalkeeper Hidde Jurjus kept alert. Yet the second half, in which De Jonge made his home debut and Nick Bakker returned to Euroborg, made it clear that Lukkien, despite the upward trend that has started, does not have to be bored for the time being.
On report
Jurjus 6.5
Interest 6
Balker 7
Peersman 6
Prince 6
Schreuders 6.5
Pelupessy 6
Duarte 6.5
Valentine 8
Van Bergen 6.5
Postema 6
Trainer Lukkien 6.5
Team performance 6
Referee Van der Laan 7
FC Groningen-Telstar 2-0
Score progression: 6. Valente 1-0, 22. Valente 2-0,
Yellow card: Schreuders, Van Bergen (FC Groningen), Van de Loo (Telstar).
Referee: Van der Laan.
Spectators: 18,000.
Fc Groningen: Jurjus; Rente, Balker, Peersman and Prins (88. Bakker); Schreuders, Pelupessy, Duarte (75. De Jonge) and Valente (79. Turay) Van Bergen (88. Slor) and Postema (75. Bacuna).
Telstar: Koeman; Apau, Oude Kotte (75. Koswal) and Bakker; Seedorf (67. Kruiver), Van de Loo, Plat, Augustijns and Turfkruier; Tahiri (67. Van den Herik) and Eddahchouri.