The 1500th Eredivisie game turned out to be a disappointment for AZ. In Waalwijk, the Alkmaarders surprisingly lost to RKC. Goalkeeper Hobie Verhulst made a flashy mistake twice. Zakaria Bakkali (former PSV) was the match winner with two late hits: 3-1.
Without the suspended Dani de Wit, but with Riechedly Bazoer in the base, the Alkmaarders played against RKC in Waalwijk. The first chance of the game was for the home side. Illias Bel Hassani was stabbed with a through ball on the left side of the penalty area. The former AZ player shot the ball narrowly past Verhulst’s goal with his left leg.
Just under five minutes after this warning shot, an Alkmaar answer came. A measured cross from right winger Yukinari Sugawara fell at the feet of Jesper Karlsson. The Swede only had to run into the ball to score the first goal on the scoreboard. Moments later, Yassin Oukili was able to approach Verhulst alone, but the keeper made a good save.
From schlemiel to savior
A few minutes later, however, Verhulst turned out to be the schlemiel. Bel Hassani pointed from far outside the penalty area for a shot. The ball seemed to be up for grabs by goalkeeper Verhulst, but he let the ball slip clumsily through his hands on a wet lawn: 1-1. Just before half time, AZ got away well, after the Waalwijkers missed two big opportunities. This time Verhulst was the spoilsport for RKC.
View Verhulst’s error in the 1-1 below. Text continues below tweet.
Dominance and opportunities for RKC
In the second half it was RKC that came out of the dressing room better. Bel Hassani was once again dangerous on behalf of RKC. The game made trainer Pascal Janssen anything but satisfied and he decided to intervene quickly. A small revival followed with Vangelis Pavlidis and Peer Koopmeiners before Maxim Dekker and Bazoer. Pavlidis came face to face with goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen, but the Greek was unable to keep his cool.
Still, the Alkmaarders did not come into their game after these substitutions. The home team had the best chance of winning in the final phase. Bel Hassani had the winning goal on his shoe. His effort was narrowly blocked by substitute Mees de Wit. In the end, Zakaria Bakkali plunged AZ into deep mourning by scoring twice: 3-1.
Due to the surprising defeat, AZ drops to fifth place in the Eredivisie. PSV will be the next opponent next Saturday. That is the last game before the winter break of the Alkmaarders. The Eindhoven team has taken over the lead in the premier division of Ajax with the 2-1 victory at Ajax.
AZ setup: concealed; Hatzidiakos, Beukema, Dekker (Koopmeinders/55), Kerkez (M. De Wit/74); Bazoer (Pavlidis/55), Clasie, Reijnders; Karlsson, Odgaard, Sugawara