Twente overpowers NEC and honors deceased Lukoki in temporarily suspended game
NOS Football–
Watch the summary of FC Twente – NEC
FC Twente recorded a simple 4-0 win over NEC on Friday night, keeping a firm grip on fifth place in the premier league. After the first goal, there was a small tribute to former Twente player Jody Lukoki, who passed away last year.
In the second half, the game was stopped for a few minutes because of a cup thrown onto the pitch from the stands when celebrating the 2-0.
Twente dominates
For Twente, already certain of the playoffs for European soccer, there is not much at stake in the final rounds of play. NEC, on the other hand, can still finish eighth and thus still has plenty to play for.
However, that was not to be seen in the match at De Grolsch Veste. FC Twente was the team that sought the attack most often in the first half, NEC had difficulty keeping up with the high tempo of the Enschedeans.
It was therefore not surprising that the home team took the lead eight minutes before the halftime signal sounded. Vaclav Cerny headed in his twelfth goal of the season on a Virgil Misidjan cross.
Honors
Celebrating that goal, the Czech rushed to the reserve bench, where he was handed a shirt bearing Lukoki’s name. With it he honored the former soccer player, who passed away on May 9, 2022.
Also in the second half, NEC had little to contribute in Enschede. After a short offensive from the Nijmegen side, Twente quickly regained control and that resulted in the 2-0. A fine pass from Cerny was promoted to goal by Misidjan.
Cup on the pitch
While Twente players celebrated the goal with each other, things went wrong in a stadium for the umpteenth time this season. A cup was thrown onto the pitch, whereupon referee Danny Makkelie followed KNVB rules and temporarily stopped the match.
After a short break, the game was able to resume. Also in the remaining minutes the game picture did not change. Twente continued to dominate and made it 3-0 a quarter of an hour before time through Misidjan.
A free kick by Cerny in the closing stages also made it 4-0. Ricky van Wolfswinkel easily tapped the ball in from close range.
Cillessen gets away well
Twente’s win could have been even bigger, but NEC goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen got away well on a number of occasions. In the sixth minute of the match, for example, he took too much time when defending.
With the ball at his feet, he did not seem to realize how fast Manfred Ugalde was coming. Cillessen, who also did not make the best impression in recent games, shot against the NEC attacker. The ball – fortunately for the Dutch international – did not carom into the goal.
