After ninety minutes of heavy rain, Fortuna Sittard and FC Utrecht could not make much progress with only one point. Keeping the score at 0-0 was largely thanks to goalkeepers Ivor Pandur and Vasilios Barkas. For example, Barkas saved Fortuna’s playmaker Alen Halilovic’s penalty, which was the best chance of the match.
FC Utrecht are struggling to climb out of the precarious bottom of the Premier League. After last week’s home win against Ajax (4-3), a win for Sittard could lead to a points tie with Fortuna, who are higher up the right-wing list. But now it continues to swing below.
Fortuna is in eleventh place after the draw. The biggest setback for Sittard was the resignation of Inigo Córdoba. He is the second winger that Fortuna will leave the field due to injury, after Tijjani Noslin.
At FC Utrecht, Ryan Flamingo started again as a defensive midfielder. The 20-year-old said he preferred to play as a centre-back but was moved back into midfield by Ron Jans in the hope that his performance against Ajax could be repeated. But it was a difficult evening.
Although the match started well with both sides having good positions and a reasonable tempo, the level dropped as the game progressed and it began to rain increasingly heavily.
It was a match where only goalkeepers could be truly outstanding. And they did. Utrecht right-back Hugo Novoa almost put the ball into his own goal with his knee, but goalkeeper Barkas noticed this and parried it straight into the corner.
As the first half approached, Utrecht took more control of the game and pushed the home team back. Fortuna defender Rodrigo Guth narrowly cleared a ball off the line, whereupon Pandur punched the ball over the goal.
old football law
The best scoring chance of the match came from 11 meters. Kaj Sierhuis had an inevitable chance just before half-time but missed it by eventually slicing the ball away.
After this ball rebounded, the shot from Halilovic from the left side in a good position hit Can Bozdoğan’s hand. Penalty, referee Bas Nijhuis said decisively. Halilovic himself stood behind the ball and came into sharp conflict with the old football law that no self-penalty is allowed. Barkas converted the penalty from the corner.
The rainy match between Fortuna and Utrecht was a mediocre evening for the fans, but goalkeepers Pandur and Barkas can be quite happy with that.
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
