NEC books sixth win of season against Volendam

NEC can chalk up its sixth win of the season after an easy evening against FC Volendam. The Nijmegen players won 3-0 in their own Goffertstadion.

The leader in ties – already 12 after 23 games – won for the second time in a row. Last week they beat Excelsior in Rotterdam by the same figures.

NEC was off the mark at the start of the match, which produced chances for Volendammers Calvin Twigt and Gaetano Oristanio within the first few minutes, but NEC escaped a deficit.

Well awakened, NEC then got the game more and more under control and it was waiting for a goal. For example, goalkeeper Filip Stankovic felt the ball slip through his legs after a shot by Oussama Tannane, but not with enough momentum to cross the goal line.

The Serbian goalkeeper also stopped a dangerous header by Magnus Mattsson, and Dirk Proper saw his shot cleared off the line by Xavier Mbuyamba.

Volendam had a very hard time, but still could easily have gone into halftime with a lead. Twice, however, Francesco Antonucci’s shot ended up in the hands of goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen.

After just under an hour of play, NEC got the lead it deserved. From a corner by Lasse Schöne, the ball landed at the feet of Iván Márquez, who was able to give the decisive touch from close range.

And ten minutes later, Tannane provided Landry Dimata with free passage to the Volendam goal with a beautiful pass. The striker made it 2-0 while stumbling. In injury time, substitute Pedro Marques scored the third for NEC.

With the victory, NEC climbs to ninth place. Volendam is fourteenth, three points above the relegation line.