NAC drags draw out of the fire against Willem II in remainder of suspended match

Willem II suffered damage in the battle for the fourth period title. NAC Breda dragged out a 1-1 draw at home at the last minute.

Only fifteen minutes remained to be played in Breda on Tuesday afternoon. The game had been suspended on April 14 after something had been thrown onto the pitch twice.

The game was first stopped in the 71st minute because fireworks had been thrown on the field. When the match had just resumed, Elton Kabangu scored for Willem II and NAC supporters threw plastic cups towards the celebrating players. At that, the referee took the teams off the field for good.

Almost two weeks later, the players entered the field again, this time in an empty Rat Verlegh Stadium. Spectators were no longer welcome. With 15 minutes and 57 seconds left on the clock, the task for Willem II was clear: defend the lead and walk off the field with the three points.

Consequently, it was NAC that immediately went on the attack. The Tilburgers were forced back into the first half and were mainly defending.

The home team had a lot of trouble with the defending Willem II and barely got through the Tilburg wall. Until the last minute of regular playing time, when Ezechiel Banzuzi still worked the ball past Willem II goalkeeper Joshua Smits.

The draw reduced the Tilburgers’ lead in the fourth period to one point with four games left to play.