Vitesse are bottom of the Premier League after a 3-1 home defeat against SC Heerenveen. A large portion of the home fans wanted coach Phillip Cocu to be fired during the match.
Things went wrong for Vitesse after captain Marco van Ginkel received a red card. The Arnhem team has managed to win only once in the last 11 matches in the Premier League.
Fast 1:0
The match started well for Vitesse. Referee Edwin van de Graaf stopped the game briefly due to poor visibility due to smoke clouds. Immediately after the restart Vitesse took the lead after Million Manhoef fired a superb shot at goal.
The shot of 21-year-old Manhoef, who took the ball from Van Ginkel in the penalty area, was hard and pure. Goalkeeper Andries Noppert had no chance and saw the shot land in the far corner.
The magnificent start of the match could not be followed sufficiently. It took until the 25th minute for the next opportunity to arise. This time there was an instant hit at the other end of the field. Pelle van Amersfoort equalized after Ché Nunnely’s pass.
Van Amersfoort outpaced defender Nicolas Isimat-Mirin and fired a fierce shot from close range towards goalkeeper Eloy Room, whereupon the ball faded into the top corner. This was the 27-year-old striker’s first official goal for Heerenveen this season. At the end of October he scored a hat-trick against VVV-Venlo in the KNVB Cup match (5:1).
Shortly before half time Heerenveen had two good opportunities to take the lead. After a well-played attack, Simon Olsson was released in the penalty area and shot hard at the goal. Vitesse goalkeeper Room was in the right corner and made a good save. A few minutes later, Room parried Sven van Beek’s fierce shot from the same corner.
Second half
Frisians aimed to make it 1:2 at halftime. Luuk Brouwers came close after a fine through ball but the midfielder hit the 34-year-old goalkeeper. Van Amersfoort tried for the rebound, slipped and tried again but missed.
Vitesse held out but after more than an hour had to deal with a serious setback. Captain Van Ginkel, who had already received a yellow card, apparently unintentionally stepped on Oliver Braude’s Achilles tendon. Referee Van de Graaf did not initially intervene. But Van Ginkel had enough when VAR called him to the video screen. Red.
The next blow for the home side came ten minutes later when midfielder Melle Meulensteen brought down Brouwers in his own penalty area. Anas Tahiri converted the penalty and made the score 1-2 for Heerenveen.
banner
For Vitesse’s die-hard supporters, this was the time to take a stand. They held banners reading “Cocu Out” and “Aju Cocu” and waved white handkerchiefs to indicate they believed the coach should go.
Heerenveen also scored 1:3 with substitute Ion Nicolaescu. Cocu emotionlessly entered the catacombs immediately after the final whistle.
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.
