Sparta successfully defends fifth spot in exciting duel with Twente

The encounter between FC Twente and Sparta, aiming for the fifth spot in the Eredivisie, ended in a goal-rich draw: 3-3. Shurandy Sambo scored the third goal on behalf of the Rotterdammers in injury time, keeping Sparta one point ahead in the league table.

Entertainment value has been high all season at the virtually impregnable Grolsch Veste. Except for draws against sc Heerenveen, Feyenoord and Go Ahead Eagles, everything was won at home in league play.

Twente, which lost unhappily in Utrecht last week, started with Michal Sadílek in place of the more attacking Sem Steijn in midfield. Coach Ron Jans hoped to create a bit more balance in his eleven this way. “It’s a little more natural now,” he said beforehand.

Thus, there was initially no battle in Enschede between father and Sparta coach Maurice and his son Sem. Nevertheless, Twente started energetically at home and rewarded themselves after 22 minutes of play.

The ball was brought into the sixteen by Gijs Smal with a bang, after which Vaclav Cerny finally served the Joshua Brenet, who came up with the ball. The right defender then headed the ball into the net.

Sparta was under pressure for a while after the 1-0, but struggled. It had opportunities through striker Tobias Lauritsen and right back Shurandy Sambo, but goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall stood his ground.

The German giant of almost two meters tall, however, had no answer to a header by Lauritsen at the far post. Brenet was covering on the wrong side of an Arno Verschueren cross and Robin Pröpper was also too late to prevent Lauritsen from scoring.

The Rotterdammers, so surprising this season, even took a brutal lead shortly before halftime. After Joshua Kitolano had pounced on Unnerstall, a minute later Lauritsen managed to cash in on a corner that Twente failed to clear properly. The Norwegian scored his eleventh league goal.

In the second half, the game turned completely upside down in a short space of time. Twente, with Steijn now filling in, equalized through an unfortunate own goal by Dirk Abels. A clever shot by Cerny into the far corner later made it 3-2.

The entertainment value was once again high, saw also honorary members and club icons Kick van der Vall and Eddy Achterberg from the stands. They were put in the limelight by the Twente supporters shortly before kickoff with a fine atmospheric action. Achterberg, nicknamed “The Cue,” was visibly moved by the gesture.

The forces drained away from both teams in the closing stages. Twente seemed to easily hold their own against a defenseless Sparta, until injury time. A free kick by Vito van Crooij hit the underside of the crossbar and in the rebound Sambo smashed in the 3-3.

Sambo received his second yellow card after his equalizer, following provocations towards the Twente fans, forcing Sparta to finish the game with ten men.

That did not bother the Rotterdammers, successfully defending the fifth spot. Sparta assistant Jeroen Rijsdijk received another red after a clumsy action near the sideline.