In a stunning come from behind victory Harm Van Veldhoven’s Roda JC defeated Groningen 2-1 at Kerkrade’s Parkstad Limburg Stadion

The day started rough for the hosts as Ruud Vormer was adjudged a penalty and straight red-card from match day referee Jan Wegereef for a foul of Nicklas Pedersen from behind. In the ensuing effort nineteen year-old Leandro Bacuna slammed the ball into the bottom left corner to give Pieter Huistra’s side the one goal advantage. The visitors showed good attacking pulse quickly thereafter but after seeing a Dušan Tadić cross sent wide, Roda closed down the advances.

After the re-start Groningen continued to extend their lead with Jonas Ivens nodding a cross off the bar and Roda lived to breathe another day. With twenty minutes remaining in regulation time, the Roda tactician summoned Syrian international Sanharib Malki for Laurent Delorge and the complexion of the match begin to turn in their favour. Moments later Mark-Jan Fledderus tested Groningen ‘keeper Brian Van Loo with a teasing effort from outside the area that was stopped, at the seventy-eighth minute the twenty-eight year old veteran found the leveller with a low free-kick to the bottom left corner of the net from eighteen metres. Buoyed with confidence, Roda took advantage of a dreadful defending blunder with two minutes remaining in regulation time as a straight forward route one provision bounded to skipper Mads Junker on the right side of the area who quickly shuttled the ball to a surging Sanharib Malki to re-directed it into the net from eleven metres to give his the 2-1 victory.

Prepared by John Davies
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