Above all, don’t lose, was the motto prior to the away match against Almere City. That mission has been more than successful: thanks to Naoufal Bannis’ victory goal in the 98th minute, NAC Breda is on course for the playoffs.
In the first half, the necessary chances were destroyed on both sides of the field. Almere had the best of the game in the opening phase, forced NAC goalie Olij to make an important save in the second minute, but was unable to score. Slowly the team from Breda got into the game better and that almost led to a lead after more than twenty minutes, were it not for Velanas’ shot that ended on the crossbar.
There were still some good opportunities for both teams, but no goals were scored in the first half. How different it was after the break. Less than two minutes into the game, when Velanas gave the visitors the lead after a perfect pass from Azzagari.
It turned out to be a wake-up call for Almere City, which immediately went looking for the tying run. With success: after a few excellent saves by Olij, the ball eventually went into the goal of the Breda team after a corner. Defender Malone hit the ball last.
NAC thought they would take the lead again a few minutes later, but Bannis’ goal – a nice marker – was rejected. The Feyenoord mercenary was just offside. Still, the striker put his name on the scoresheet in the very last second of the game by making the 1-2.
Play-offs close by
The match against Almere City could well determine the further course of the season for NAC. The team from Almere had done good business with a victory in the battle for the period title. With that, place 9 in the ranking would no longer go to the play-offs. NAC is currently eighth, but is closely followed by De Graafschap.
So Saturday night’s win means doubly good news. The people of Breda are again taking some distance from De Graafschap, while the period title for Almere City is getting a bit further out of sight.