Roda JC failed to reach the next round in the battle for a place in the Eredivisie. In Kerkrade, Excelsior was too strong after extra time with 0-2.
That was enough after last Tuesday’s 2-2 draw in Rotterdam. Roda JC and Excelsior both had many opportunities, but failed to score in regular time. Roda goalkeeper Rody de Boer kept the Kerkrades going by stopping a penalty. Excelsior quickly took the lead in extra time. In the last second of that extra time, the Rotterdam team also scored the 0-2. As a result, Roda JC will also play in the Kitchen Champion Division next season.
Change
Roda JC started with one change from the Rotterdam game. Robert Klaasen was given a basic place by trainer Jurgen Streppel. That meant that Niek Vossebelt had to settle for a place on the bench. Roda JC immediately took the initiative in-house and also created the first chances of the match through Dylan Vente and Patrick Pflücke. After almost twenty minutes, Streppel’s team got the first big chance of the game. Vente encountered Excelsior goalkeeper Stijn van Gassel and Bryan Limbombe then did not know what to do with the rebound.
penalty kick
Not much later Excelsior screamed for a penalty after Amir Absalem touched the ball sliding with his hand, but referee Jochem Kamphuis judged otherwise and waved the moment away. It was the moment when Excelsior decided to play more football and move towards the Roda goal. That resulted in a shot by Reuven Niemeijer that went wide. Roda got another chance to take the lead after half an hour, but after Vente, Pflücke also encountered Van Gassel.
Line
The game was a bit more even and it was Excelsior that had two big chances. First Daryl Werker got the ball off the line on a bet by Marouan Azarkan and then De Boer made a save on a bet by Thijs Dallinga. Moments later, Limbombe saw that the next Roda opportunity was turned. Excelsior escaped a red card just before half-time. Mats Wieffer came in straight at Werker and received a yellow card for that.
Switchover
In the second half, the opportunity festival seemed to continue. In a counterattack, Azarkan saw his shot turned by De Boer and Limbombe had the first opportunity for Roda. After that the number of chances dried up. Excelsior bet a bit more on the switch in the second half. Marinus Dijkhuizen’s team noticed that some Roda defenders had trouble with the quick counterattacks. As a result, Roda JC had the ball a lot and regularly appeared threatening in front of the Excelsior goal, without often becoming dangerous.
penalty kick
One of the counters gave Excelsior a great opportunity to take the lead. After a violation by Davy van den Berg, referee Kamphuis pointed to the penalty spot. However, De Boer prevented Rotterdam from taking a lead after a great save on the penalty from Dallinga, who used another penalty last Tuesday. The same Dallinga thought he could score ten minutes before the end, but the striker was offside when he shot the ball behind De Boer. It was the last chance of the game, after which extra time came.
Goal conceded
Roda JC had the first big chance in the first overtime. Guus Joppen saw the ball hit his knee from a corner, but also land over the goal. The first chance for Excelsior was a hit. Substitute Couhaib Driouech tapped the ball behind De Boer before Stefano could defend Marzo. Because of the Rotterdam goal, Roda JC had to score and so trainer Jurgen Streppel brought three fresh forces into his team. From a free kick by Pflücke, one of those substitutes, Richard Jensen, had a head chance. The ball went over the wrong side of the bar for Roda.
Everything or nothing
In the second extension, Roda JC, forced by the standings, had to play all or nothing to keep the promotion dream alive. Werker was used as an additional offensive reinforcement. Excelsior withdrew into its own half and gave the residents of Kerkrade the ball. They appeared threatening a number of times in front of Van Gassel’s goal, but it was unable to create great opportunities. In the last second Excelsior countered to 0-2 via Nikolas Agrafiotis.