Hero role Romano Postema at Woudestein. Double whim gives FC Groningen a ticket for the KNVB Cup quarter finals

The discussion prior to the match between Excelsior and FC Groningen was mainly about who was the favorite. Dick Lukkien didn’t have to think about it for long the day before the match. “Excelsior plays at a higher level than us and also plays at home. Those are the ingredients for a favorite role,” said the Veendammer coach.

His colleague Marinus Dijkhuizen had a slightly different view. “We don’t have as high a budget as FC Groningen,” knew the Excelsior coach, who is fifteenth with his team in the Premier League and had played all FC Groningen matches, up to the lost practice match against VfL Bochum. studied. “I think FC Groningen has twice as much to spend as we do. They have a nice team and are in good shape.”

Nifty players

The first half proved that Lukkien was right most on his side, because the northerners were hardly involved at Woudestein. The Groningers were unable to put pressure on the opponent. Excelsior, which had its strongest line-up except for the goalkeeper, had far too many handy players on the field who always managed to find a teammate with ease. In this way they simply outplayed the hunting FC Groningen attackers.

The northerners, who were supported by a sold-out away section, were in turn unable to do anything substantial in return when they had possession of the ball. The game was too sloppy to maintain long-term possession of the ball. The Groningen forwards remained out of reach most of the time and did not demonstrate the passion and fight that was so characteristic of FC Groningen in the first half of the season. The pace was usually too slow.

Some serious feat

The result was that no chance was created by the northerners until half time. After more than half an hour, Romano Postema appeared near Excelsior’s penalty area, tried to take a swing from the turn, but only hit his opponent. The corner kick that followed yielded nothing. A long shot by Joey Pelupessy just before half time was the only other serious achievement.

On the other side of the field, Excelsior tore apart the defense of FC Groningen, where Nick Bakker was given a starting place again after years for the suspended Marvin Peersman, at times with high-tech attacking work. That gave the Kralingers a handful of chances, but the home team did not get any further than an offside goal from the gifted left wing attacker Couhaib Driouech, with whom Leandro Bacuna had his hands more than full every now and then. Goalkeeper Hidde Jurjus also kept his team on track a few times.

Renewed energy

It was clear that FC Groningen, if it wanted to keep its cup dream alive and make the step to the quarter-finals, had to show more in the second half to avoid being sent home ingloriously with a defeat. Lukkien also seemed to have given this to his men in the dressing room, because there was renewed energy in the team after the break.

FC Groningen came closer to the Excelsior goal more often, although the Rotterdam team initially still created the best chances. But if you don’t score, you can’t win, and how often is it the underlying party that ultimately scores one. That’s how it went at Woudestein. Out of nowhere, the northerners took the lead in the 72nd minute.

Postema the hero

FC Groningen took maximum advantage of the short-lived chaos at Excelsior after a double substitution made by Dijkhuizen. Hidde Jurjus thought, come on, let me throw in a long ball. It went down promptly. Thom van Bergen extended the goalkeeper’s long kick with a clever pass to Romano Postema, who delivered a devastating strike with his left.

It didn’t stop there. Excelsior was clearly upset by the unexpected goal. FC Groningen took maximum advantage. Luciano Valente intercepted a lost ball from the home team and immediately brought Postema back into position. This time the reddish striker let his right foot do the talking: 0-2. It was the young attacker’s fourth goal in the last three games.

In the closing minutes of the cup battle, Excelsior still pressed, but it was always the good goalkeeping Hidde Jurjus who stood his ground. Like a thief in the night, FC Groningen ran away with a ticket for the quarter-final of the KNVB Cup, knowing that the adventure is actually starting to look a bit like the 2015 winning streak. Even then it sometimes involved hanging and strangling, but everyone still remembers how it ended.

‘Deserved victory’

Dick Lukkien spoke of a deserved victory. “Although it went in stages, because the first half hour we played with too much trepidation. We had difficulty getting pressure on Excelsior. A Premier League club plays just a little easier. But after the break we threw everything away, we were able to keep up with Excelsior and we scored two beautiful goals. We had to work hard to get into duels and do a lot of running work, even without the ball. That requires mentality and character, but fortunately that is largely present in this team.”