FC Twente has won the regional derby against Heracles Almelo 1-0. Mees Hilgers scored the only goal of the game in the fifth minute. Due to the victory, the team of trainer Ron Jans climbs to seventh place in the Eredivisie.
By Leon ten Voorde
The victory was deserved on the basis of 96 minutes. FC Twente had the best chances and put the most energy into the match. Heracles woke up too late and was billed for it. For the third time in a row, an away game in the region was lost to the Almeloërs.
FC Twente coach Ron Jans went back to the success formation from September for the derby. As a result, Giovanni Troupée returned to the team, there was immediately a base place for Wout Brama after a month’s absence, Michal Sadilek was left back again and Dimtris Limnios was preferred over Virgil Misidjan.
Heracles coach Frank Wormuth again opted for the so-called Ajax variant with Navajo Bakboord and Noah Fadiga on the right. It was not a success this time, stronger: it was initially the Achilles’ heel.
no ghost
For a long time, Heracles was not a shadow of the team that defied Ajax a week ago in De Grolsch Veste. As determined as then, so unconvincing was the performance in the first half. Wormuth intervened within half an hour by pulling Bakbord to the side and bringing in Ismail Azzaoui, moving Fadiga back to his regular spot as right back. Until that moment, the Almelo players had absolutely no grip on the left-wing tandem of FC Twente Sadilek-Limnios, which was constantly steaming.
FC Twente was already ahead then. The Enschede team broke open the game after just four minutes. A twisting free kick by Limnios ended up at Mees Hilgers. Goalkeeper Janis Blaswich initially managed to turn the bet, but on the defender’s rebound he had no answer: 1-0. Two years ago, at the last derby with an audience, FC Twente took the lead so quickly. At the time, Heracles managed to turn the game around.
The visitors were trumped on all fronts before half-time by the much more aggressive FC Twente, which did not let Heracles get into the game for a moment. It even took until the eighteenth minute before Heracles came up with the first attack plan. An opportunity did not arise from it, as Heracles was only spectators throughout the first half. Until injury time, when goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall had to stretch completely on a shot by Rai Vloet.
FC Twente threatening
The danger for this came from FC Twente via the strong Limnios and the active Rots, who fought wonderful duels with the Italian excited position Giacomo Quagliata. A free kick by Sadilek went just wide and Michel Vlap and Ricky van Wolfswinkel got in each other’s way with a cross from the well-playing Troupée.
The question was whether FC Twente could maintain this energetic game in the second half against an opponent known for having a large oxygen tank. The answer was no. The first threat came from FC Twente. Liomnios blasted over from close range, after Marco Rente just pushed the ball into his feet while defending. A minute later, Vloet was close to equalizing after a quick breakout, but his attempt went just wide.
different face
The latter was a signal that Heracles was finally getting serious about the derby. Heracles suddenly started and Jans reacted after an hour of play by introducing Jayden Oosterwolde, giving Sadilek the task of giving the midfield some more power.
Rots was close to the decision twenty minutes before the end, but Blaswich prevented the derby from being decided early with a great save. So it remained exciting and hectic. With Nicolai Laursen and Sinan Bakis, Wormuth played out his last offensive trumps in the last ten minutes, but it didn’t yield anything, so the three points earned remained in Enschede.
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