Twente gets off to a late start, but wins away game at Fortuna after months again
NOS Football–
FC Twente has won an away game in the premier league for the first time since October last year. Visiting Fortuna Sittard, Ron Jans’ team won 3-0.
Manfred Ugalde crowned his starting place with two goals.
For a while it was thought that Twente could compete for the top places, but after a series of lesser results the team has dropped to fifth place. From the previous three games, the Tukkers kept only one point.
Looking for new impetus, Twente coach Jans opted to take striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel, who had not scored a goal in seven games, out of the starting lineup. Ugalde, who scored as a substitute against Heerenveen last week, was given a chance from the start.
That change up front didn’t help Twente at first. The team had by far the most ball possession and combined, but it hardly created any chances.
Indeed, the first big chance was for Fortuna striker Thomas Buitink, the replacement for the injured Burak Yilmaz. Buitink just barely got his foot against a cross, but Twente goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall saved.
Twente’s best chance came just before halftime. Robin Pröpper was able to head from very close range after a cross from Václav Cerný, but the ball went over via defender Rodrigo Guth.
Cerný breaks open match
After halftime, Jans still called on Van Wolfswinkel, but even with two strikers it took a long time for Twente to get going. Only in the 67th minute did Cerný make the difference with an individual action.
The Czech passed Fortuna defender George Cox and then shot through the legs of Dimitris Siovas into the far corner: 0-1.
Less than five minutes later, Twente quickly took a free kick and Ugalde was able to head alone at goalkeeper Ivor Pandur. The Costa Rican finished coolly. Fortuna felt robbed, as the free kick did not seem to have been taken in the right place, but the goal stood.
With that, Fortuna’s resistance was broken and Twente at times again showed the soccer with which it was so successful in the first half of the season. From a fine attack, Cerný crossed the ball and Ugalde was able to simply tap in his second of the evening.
