NEC Nijmegen Faces Go Ahead Eagles in Crucial Eredivisie Clash
The Goffertstadion has seen brighter Septembers. NEC Nijmegen walk out on Sunday carrying the weight of eight unanswered goals in their last two games and a tactical plan that has been ruthlessly exposed. Go Ahead Eagles arrive with their own defensive bruises, but with enough firepower to sense vulnerability.
This is round seven of the Eredivisie, but it already feels like a small crossroads.
NEC searching for balance
NEC’s last league outing was a bruising one. A 3-0 defeat at Cambuur, where Ilyes Hamache scored either side of half time and Iwan Henstra added a stoppage-time third, laid bare the problem: a high defensive line repeatedly caught cold, and too little punch at the other end to compensate.
Then came Turin.
A 5-0 Europa League loss at Juventus read like a technical paradox. NEC completed 497 passes at 91% accuracy, saw enough of the ball to suggest control, yet turned that possession into just two shots on target from 11 attempts. They moved the ball, but not the scoreboard.
The pattern across both games has been stark. Space left behind the back line, runners not tracked, and a forward unit unable to turn long spells of possession into goals. They have not scored in their last two matches, a drought that has arrived just as a fitness cloud hangs over winger Clement Bischoff, one of their sharper creative sparks earlier in the season.
Responsibility has fallen, again, on captain Tjaronn Chery. He leads NEC’s scoring charts with three league goals and remains the clearest threat between the lines. NEC have already been awarded two penalties this season, more than any other side in the division, a sign that they can still draw mistakes in the box even when open play falters.
The bigger question is whether they can sustain this approach with such a stretched squad. Dick Schreuder’s side pushed into the Champions League qualifying rounds over the summer, and the extra fixtures have bitten. As September wears on, the legs are heavy, the bench is thin, and the margins grow smaller.
Go Ahead Eagles flying forward, leaking at the back
Go Ahead Eagles arrive in Nijmegen sitting ninth, two points better off than NEC, and with a very different kind of problem. Joseph Oosting’s team create. A lot. Keeping the door shut is another matter entirely.
Their last outing, a 1-1 draw at home to Groningen, told the story. They slung in 35 crosses, piled bodies forward and were finally rewarded when Soren Tengstedt levelled in the 82nd minute. The momentum was theirs, the stadium pushing, and then came the miss that summed up their season so far: Stefan Sigurdarson through on goal late on, only to waste a clear chance to win it.
That frustration sits alongside a wild recent run of scorelines. Before Groningen, Go Ahead shared six goals in a 3-3 draw at FC Utrecht. Before that, they conceded five in a 5-2 defeat at AZ Alkmaar, all wrapped around a more controlled 3-1 home win over ADO Den Haag.
At the heart of their attacking surge is Tengstedt, the Eredivisie’s outright leading scorer with five goals and two assists. Operating from the right but constantly drifting into central pockets, he has repeatedly unsettled back fours that struggle to pick up his movement. Against an NEC defence that has already shown how easily it can be dragged out of shape, his threat looms large.
Behind him, Victor Edvardsen knits it all together. He created seven chances in the draw with Groningen alone, dropping into spaces between the lines and feeding the runners ahead of him. When Go Ahead click, it is usually Edvardsen who lights the fuse.
The price of that ambition has been paid at the other end. Oosting’s side have conceded 13 goals in six league matches. They are not shutting teams out; they are simply trying to outscore them. Captain Joris Kramer anchors the back four in front of goalkeeper Kjetil Haug, and his distribution from deep has become an important release valve as Go Ahead try to play through pressure instead of simply going long. But the numbers do not lie: this is an open, high-risk team.
Team news and likely lineups
NEC’s problems are not just tactical. They are physical too.
Emre Mor remains sidelined with a groin injury and is not expected back until mid-October. Deveron Fonville is also out with an ankle issue until early October. At the back, Ahmetcan Kaplan is a doubt with a knee problem and is rated day-to-day. Bischoff is listed as a fitness concern following the trip to Turin, though NEC have not confirmed his status through official channels.
Schreuder is likely to turn again to a side built around Chery’s influence and the guile of Dusan Tadic in the final third. A possible XI: Polster; Kabar, Storm, Sandler; Tahaui, Geiger, Nejasmic, Thomas; Chery, Tadic; Sierhuis.
Go Ahead Eagles’ situation is more settled. Oosting will again be without Gerrit Nauber, who continues to manage a leg injury on a day-to-day basis, while Pim Saathof remains out with a knee problem. Beyond that, the coach has his core group intact and in rhythm.
Their expected lineup reflects that continuity: Haug; Sampsted, Dirksen, Kramer, James; Meulensteen, Linthorst; Tengstedt, Edvardsen, Suray; Sigurdarson.
Where this game tilts
On paper, this has the feel of a wide-open contest. NEC have enough quality through Chery and Tadic to trouble any Eredivisie defence, and Go Ahead’s record at the back hardly suggests a quiet afternoon for Haug.
The issue is timing. NEC walk into this game having conceded eight without reply in two matches, their high line repeatedly punished and their confidence dented. The defensive fix they crave is unlikely to appear overnight.
Go Ahead Eagles, for all their flaws, know exactly what they are right now: a team that attacks in waves and trusts its forwards to outgun the opposition. Tengstedt’s five goals and two assists give them the sharpest cutting edge on the pitch, and his understanding with Edvardsen has been one of the early-season combinations in the division.
Home advantage and NEC’s attacking pedigree should be enough to produce a response, perhaps a moment of quality from Chery or Tadic to drag the Goffertstadion back into life. But if this turns into the open, end-to-end game the formbook suggests, Go Ahead’s greater consistency in front of goal tilts the balance.
Prediction: NEC 1-2 Go Ahead Eagles.
If that script holds, the question for NEC will not just be about points dropped. It will be about how long Schreuder can persist with a high-wire act that currently offers more risk than reward.
