RKC Waalwijk has done very good business in the fight against relegation. On Sunday evening it won at home against competitor Fortuna Sittard. With three extra points in their pocket, the team of trainer Joseph Oosting has climbed to place twelve in the ranking, eight points ahead of number sixteen Sparta Rotterdam.
The match in the Mandemakers Stadium in Waalwijk had already been going on for a few minutes when the scoreboard still read 0-0. The players on the field were more alert than the operator of that scoreboard, because RKC took the lead after eighty seconds.
It was a true lightning start. Finn Stokkers launched himself. Nigel Lonwijk prevented Stokkers from becoming really dangerous, but by tapping the ball he delivered a perfect assist to Juriën Gaari. The right back of the Waalwijkers then easily hit. Michiel Kramer saw that coming, because before Gaari worked the ball against the ropes, the striker was already cheering on the field.
After just under twenty minutes of play, Stokkers again played an important role in the preparatory phase. In a sprint he kept several Fortuna players busy, at the same time he managed to keep the overview. Through the legs of an opponent he put the ball well wide on Kramer. The striker deftly tipped the ball over the rushing Fortuna goalie Michael Verrips.
Fortuna back in duel
In the first half, RKC had enough opportunities to further increase the score. However, there was no third goal. And that made it even more exciting in the second half, also because RKC no longer got around to playing football. After twenty minutes in the second half, Mats Seuntjens went to the ground in the penalty area, after contact with RKC goalie Etienne Vaessen.
Referee Serdar Gözübüyük put the ball on the spot. Vaessen on the line, Seuntjens behind the ball. Good friends off the field, now face to face with an important moment. Seuntjens remained calm, he shot in the penalty with conviction: 2-1. In game twenty it was already the sixth penalty kick that the Waalwijkers had against this season. Michael Kramer did everything he could to make it difficult for Seuntjens, but destroying the penalty spot only earned him a yellow card.
Where RKC played a very good first half, the decline in the second 45 minutes was great. After the 2-1 Fortuna Sittard went looking for the equalizer. The home side had the ball far less often and they created far fewer chances than in the first half. In the final phase it was still a squeeze, but in the end the two goals in the first half were enough for a victory. Partly due to a good save by Vaessen in injury time on a shot by Zian Flemming.
Good business
With the win, RKC is doing very good business in the rankings. RKC has moved up two spots and is now twelfth. Just like number eleven FC Groningen and number thirteen Go Ahead Eagles, it has 22 points. Heracles Almelo follows on two points. Number fifteen Willem II, the next opponent for RKC in the next game on February 6, has four points less.
Sparta, which is number sixteen in a place that obliges you to play play-offs, already has eight points less. While Fortuna Sittard and PEC Zwolle, the teams that are now relegated, have nine and ten points less. And so Oosting and his team are in good shape in the fight against relegation.