AZ Wins The KNVB Cup Against NEC

The 19th of April the KNVB cup finale was played in De Kuip in Rotterdam which was filled with fans. AZ Alkmaar and NEC Nijmegen faced each other in this important match, because winning this meant a spot in the Europa league, which would be good for AZ who are supposed to play in the conference league play-offs.

(Image credit to AZ.nl)

AZ Alkmaar arrived in Rotterdam still having the memories of last KNVB cup final, where they lost due to a last minute penalty,but they also faced a team which is standing 3th in the Eredivisie while they are 6th,and NEC were desperate for their first-ever cup title.Despite a strong start for both sides, The Alkmaar defense stayed strong against the early attacks from NEC.

The lines-ups for this match was:

AZ Alkmaar: Owusu-Oduro, Goes, Penetra, Koopmeiners, Clasie, Parrot, Mijnans, Dijkstra, Smit, Daal , De Wit

NEC Nijmegen: Cillessen, Sandler, Nejašmić, Önal, Chery, Dasa, Lebreton, Sano, Fonville, Ouaissa, Linssen

First Half

Both teams started the match at a high pace, In the opening stages of the match NEC was looking stronger than AZ Alkmaar, but NEC was still struggling to find an open spot in AZ’s defense. In the 32nd minute Mees de wit shot a ball that found the net and gave AZ the 1-0 lead.

At the end of the first half Jordy Clasie had the chance to make it 2-0, but the ball hit the crossbar which meant that the first half ended in 1-0, with NEC still looking very strong, and still in the game 

(Image credit to AZ.nl)

Second Half

The second half was dominated by AZ. In the 67th minute Mijnans gave AZ the 2-0 lead after an amazing move with Kees Smit. After 6 minutes the 3-0 was made by Peer Koopermeiners who tipped the ball over the goalkeeper.

In the 78th minute NEC made it 3-1 which was made by Koki Ogawa, but sadly it was too late for a comeback. In the 91st minute the lead was made even bigger when Kees Smit shot a ball that found the net, with just four minutes left the standings was 4-1. Nobody thought the lead could become even bigger, but a few seconds before the end of the match, Troy Parrot shot the ball and that one also found the net, so the match ended in 5-1 for AZ Alkmaar.

(Image credit to AZ.nl)

The whistle confirmed that AZ officials won their fifth KNVB cup ever, and they won their first since 2013. The first half started very competitively for both sides, but AZ kept their precision and that was one of the deciding factors for this match. The victory was celebrated big when the team arrived back in Alkmaar, by both players and fans.

article by Zoë Wokke