WEEK 2 – Saturday 10th August 2013

A fantastic day for football in Holland, starting off with the fastest goal in the Eredivisie… ever and ending with a 17-year-old star being born scoring a wonderful hat-trick.

HERACLES 1-3 PEC ZWOLLE

Heading into this game full of confidence after defeating Feyenoord on home soil last weekend, Zwolle fly into their meeting with Heracles and were leading after just 12 seconds. Jesper Drost scored the fastest goal in Eredivisie history. Straight from the kick-off the ball was played through by Mustafa Saymak to Drost down the left wing, the 20-year-old sprinted past Christian Dorda and slotted the ball home underneath the arms of goalkeeper Remko Pasveer.

The hosts were in shock and even more so when after 12 minutes they found themselves with a two-goal deficit. Zwolle’s Youness Mohktar feeding in South African midfielder Kamohelo Mokotjo on the edge of the box unmarked and as he was closed down by Pasveer and two defenders, he lofted the ball over them all and into the empty net.

On 42 minutes, Heracles got the goal they deserved after dominating the majority of the first-half possession. A corner was failed to be cleared by Zwolle’s defence and Matthew Amoah fired the ball across the goal, Maikel van der Werff spooned his clearance into the corner of Kevin Begios’ goal.

Zwolle thought they had a third and once again the trouble from Heracles came down the left side of their defence. Mateusz Klich found acres of space and played in Fred Benson to finish, but the striker was deemed to be offside.

Klich went onto miss penalty on 80 minutes but soon after substitute Guyon Fernandez arrived to score again for the second week in a row bagging a 91st minute tap-in after Heracles had pressed too many players forward searching for an equaliser.

Two wins in two for PEC Zwolle, which no-one would have predicted, and with players like Van der Werff (who played well before his own goal), Fred Benson, Jesper Drost and Kamohelo Mokotjo pulling the strings, and with Ron Jans leading all this, they could go far this year.

NAC BREDA 0-2 HEERENVEEN

Marco van Basten will be celebrating also this evening after his Heerenveen side have gained maximum points out of their first two games of the season.

The 4-2 home win against AZ Alkmaar last Saturday was not reflected in this game as De Superfriezen had to work hard for the 2-0 away win at NAC Breda.

The opening goal left a question – was it a fortunate goal or a stroke of genius? Hakim Ziyech looped a ball towards the far post with a free-kick from the right-wing and goalkeeper Jelle ten Rouwelaar could do nothing but watch as it nestled into the right-hand corner of his goal – see video below

Shortly after Alfred Finnbogason came close to scoring, but Belgian defender Sepp De Roover blocked the Iceland internationals effort.

After the internal, NAC had two good chances in quick succession to level the score, but Alex Schalk and Sarpong failed to get the ball past goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt. The home team pressed for the levelling goal for the remainder of the game but in fairness were not at their most dangerous.

Heerenveen cemented the points in the stoppage time, and it was that man Finnbogason on the scoresheet to score his third in two games.

GO AHEAD EAGLES 2-1 ADO DEN HAAG

After a good point last week against FC Utrecht, Go Ahead Eagles are unbeaten in their return to the Eredivisie, defeating ADO Den Haag 2-1 in their first home game of the season.

From the kickoff, Go Ahead looked the most eager of the two and went forward without any fear looking for the opening goal. On the back foot, ADO seemed intimidated and the Eagles smelt blood with Marnix Kolder looking to take up the role of predator.

Gino Coutinho kept his team on level terms saving chances from Kolder and Jacindo Antonia until the 21st minute when left back Xandro Schenk found the net with a beautiful free-kick from the edge of the area.

The goal shook some life into ADO, and they began to do some pressing of their own and when goalkeeper Eloy Room parried a header, Mike van Duinen was in the right place at the right time to prod in the equaliser.

The second half was a battle, and unlike the first-half more of an equal half but yet Go Ahead clinched the three points with just ten minutes remaining. Kolder scoring from the edge of the area from an acute angle to send the Deventer crowd into a frenzy.

This was the Eagles first win in the Eredivisie since 22nd March 1996 which was a 3-0 away win to Vitesse.

PSV 5-0 NEC NIJMEGEN

What can I say about this team already this season? What can I say about 17-year-old Zakaria Bakkali already this season? A star has well and truly been born – the young Belgian winger scored a hat-trick this evening of the highest quality and the Philips Stadion crowd left the stadium this evening very optimistic about their and his future.

It was a five-star performance from the young PSV side, the oldest player in the starting line-up was their captain Georginio Wijnaldum, aged 22.

The opening goal was created by Jurgen Locadia. The 19-year-old striker split the NEC defence open with a ball through to the 17-year-old Bakkali, who smashed a shot towards goal which crashed with the underside of the bar and into the goal. The noise the ball made hitting off the crossbar made the Eindhoven crowd erupt and the goal showed that this young team’s attacking confidence is going from strength to strength.

Minutes later, with the Philips Stadion noise levels rising with every touch of the ball as each play builded, they thought they had added a second when Swedish midfielder Oskar Hijlemark swung a ball into Locadia, but the striker was caught offside while finishing the move.

New loan signing Ji-Sung Park was onlooking in the stands but he must be thinking where he can fit into this team at 32 years of age.

PSV went in for the break only one goal for the good but two minutes into the second period, the Belgian was at it again as he doubled the lead. On the edge of the box, just to the right, he cut inside, dipping and faking, fooling the NEC defenders then curling a low drive past Karl-Johan Johnsson. The goalkeeper maybe should have done better but never the less it was 2-0.

On the hour mark, PSV found the net again. A quick free-kick was took by Adam Maher feeding the alert Wijnaldum through on goal while the NEC defenders slept and he finished coolly to make it three.

Within the 75 minute mark, PSV punished the Nijmegen side even further. Attacking left-back Jetro Willems switching his play into the middle of the pitch and layed a ball on for Wijnaldum, who was surging down the right to fire a shot across the goal and into the net. Another good goal for the young side but the best was yet to come.

The 81st minute proved to be not just the icing on the cake for PSV but a moment that young Bakkali and PSV fans will never forget. He clinched his first hat-trick of his career with a goal that Lionel Messi would be proud of. This time on the left wing, Willems and Locadia combined to flick the ball onto the prodigy. Collecting the ball just left to the edge of the box, he started twisting and turning until setting himself up just inside the box on his right foot. His effort was wonderful, it was perfect, a curling high placed shot into the top corner, just inside the bar and the post.

The crowd exploded for the fifth time, but on this occasion it was the loudest. On this performance, one may have to make this young team the favourites to finally end Ajax’s monopoly on the Eredivisie title.