Ten years ago, Willem II last won a prize: the title in the then Jupiler League. The people of Tilburg took a huge step towards a new championship on Friday evening. Number two ADO Den Haag was put aside 2-1 after a strong first half and a hectic final phase. The gap with the people of The Hague has now increased to eight points. The new number two Roda JC is seven points behind the Tilburg team. And that is the next opponent of the leader next week.
In the King Willem II Stadium it was clear long before the first whistle that an absolute cracker was on the programme. The game against ADO Den Haag had to be won to do very good business at the top and not to make it more exciting. The home team’s supporters made a huge noise right from the first whistle. Led by the fanatical supporters, Willem II wanted to show that there was absolutely nothing to be gained in Tilburg.
The sale of Ringo Meerveld to Willem II yielded FC Den Bosch a record amount in 2021. Willem II saw a lot of potential in the then 18-year-old attacking midfielder and was proven right. The native of Den Bosch (21) has become an indispensable part of coach Peter Maes’ team and does something he did not do last season: score. On Friday evening, he gave his team the lead against ADO Den Haag after just fifteen minutes.
Beauty from Bosch
ADO Den Haag was blown away in the very atmospheric Tilburg stadium and five minutes later it was already 2-0. A beauty by Jesse Bosch, who left goalkeeper Nick Marsman without a chance with a hard shot. After 25 minutes, Meerveld could have made a very early decision, but face to face with Marsman, the keeper was in charge.
Behounek’s suspension
At the back, Willem II gave nothing away before half time. The defense is rock solid under trainer Peter Maes, with Raffael Behounek as a standout. He didn’t always look reliable at the start of the season, but he has developed into one of the best defenders in this competition. The Austrian stood out against ADO Den Haag with a clever header that just went wide, but also with a foul that cost him a yellow card. He has therefore been suspended against Roda JC next week.
Opportunities ADO The Hague
ADO Den Haag coach Darije Kalezic brought in two new players after the break. This was partly at the expense of Breda striker Alex Schalk, who played unluckily. The team from The Hague showed at times with good positional play why it is so high in this competition. The Hague’s first big chance only came in the 69th minute when Kürsad Surmeli came close to scoring with a hard shot. A minute later, goalkeeper Joshua Smits had to intervene on a header from former PSV defender Timothy Derijck. Smits also had a good answer to Jerry van Wolfgang’s shot.
Hectic final phase
The end of the match was still very exciting. Derijck scored the tying goal from a corner in the 86th minute and that resulted in a final offensive from The Hague. Brabant striker Jort van de Sande was then close to the equalizer, but his shot went just wide. It was a tight squeeze for Willem II, but the 2-1 lead was not relinquished.
Title race
The competition has certainly not yet been decided, because there are still twelve competition rounds on the program. However, if Roda JC wins next week, they can already take the flat cart out of the shed in Tilburg. And also start inflating the tires.
Results of other Brabant teams:
Helmond Sport – De Graafschap 3-1 – Helmond Sport won the home match against De Graafschap 3-1. Halfway through the match the home team led 2-1. Marin scored twice for Helmond Sport and Colyn was accurate for De Graafschap. In injury time, Kaars scored the third goal for Helmond Sport.
TOP Oss – Jong Ajax 2-1 – The home team took a 2-0 lead before halftime thanks to goals from Allemeersch. Six minutes after halftime, Rijkhoff scored the tying goal, 2-1. That’s it. Despite the victory, TOP Oss remains bottom in the Kitchen Champion Division.
FC Den Bosch – Jong AZ 0-0 – FC Den Bosch played 0-0 in a home match for the third time in a row. In total, the residents of Den Bosch played 0-0 in four of the last five matches.
Telstar – NAC 1-1 – In the eighth minute, NAC fell behind 1-0 due to a goal by former NAC player Danny Bakker. Fifteen minutes before the end, substitute Tom Boere equalized for the Breda team.