Fortuna beats frontrunner Twente, losing for first time this season

FC Twente lost points for the first time this season. Out at Fortuna Sittard, the Women’s Eredivisie frontrunner managed to hold out for a long time after an early red card, but in injury time the team eventually had to bow out: 2-1.

In the earlier mutual duel, Fortuna Sittard lost 6-0 to Joran Pot’s team. Now they got a ‘gift’ early in the match, when the reigning champion had to continue with ten players after a red card for Caitlin Dijkstra.

The defender tried to prevent a breakthrough by Fortuna striker Tessa Wullaert by bringing down the Belgian top scorer in the penalty area.

Dijkstra was furious and left the field cursing and ranting. Daphne van Domselaar then stopped Anna Knol’s penalty kick that was taken too easily.

Fortuna failed to overpower Twente. Wullaert had fire in her legs and broke through the defense several times, but fellow players like Maria Gros did not finish.

That was followed by Knol’s own goal, which earlier missed the penalty. She wanted to head the ball back to the goalkeeper, but the ball curled over Diede Lemey’s head unmovably into the goal, giving Twente the lead in the game.

Even with one less player, the team from Enschede was as strong as steel concrete and worked smoothly together. But the team was also careless.

Fifteen minutes before time, the Twente women gave Fortuna another penalty, due to a foul in the sixteen-meter area on substitute Hanna Huizenga. This time Wullaert took the penalty herself, without mercy: 1-1.

In injury time, Fortuna player Huizenga had another huge chance. Right in front of Van Domselaar she lashed out and shot the ball hard and high into the net: 2-1, the final score. And so Ajax, in second place, gained a point on the leaders.

On March 17, the two teams face each other again in the quarterfinals of the Cup.