Willem II did not make it on Saturday evening. At home, the Tilburg team had to clear a 3-2 deficit against VVV-Venlo. It seemed for a long time that it would work. The next step on the way back to the Eredivisie seemed close, but well into the second half of extra time, that dream fell apart. This made it 2-2 and that was enough for VVV to continue.
Before the game it was very foggy in Tilburg. Smoke pots put a blanket of dark mist over the Koning Willem II stadium, so the match started a few minutes later. The Tilburgers quickly put a lot of pressure on it. After seven minutes, Elton Kabangu opened the score for Willem II. In the 22nd minute, that lead was doubled by a goal from midfielder Jesse Bosch. This cleared the backlog from Venlo before the break.
Still extending
After the break, VVV did something back with a goal in the 74th minute from Nick Venema. The attacker thus brought the score in the game to 2-1 and the total score to 4-4. That turned out to be the last important moment of regular time. In extra time there were hardly any chances and it became more survival than real football.
The duel became more and more a war of attrition, the warm weather contributed to this. It was not for nothing that a total of thirteen switches were used. Willem II made six substitutions, VVV-Venlo seven times.
It wasn’t until the 121st minute, in extra time of extra time, that the decision was made. Özcan Yasar made the decisive goal for the Limburgers. His header shattered Willem II’s dream of returning to the Eredivisie.
Willem II finished seventeenth last season and was therefore relegated from the Eredivisie after eight years. In the regular competition, the Tilburgers finished fourth this season.
VVV-Venlo will compete on Tuesday against Almere City FC, which kicked FC Eindhoven out of the post-competition on Friday evening.
NAC Breda will play against MVV on Saturday evening.