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Heerenveen and AZ promote football
Monday 03 November 2008
AZ gave up their solo leadership
in the Eredivisie this weekend by drawing 3-3 at SC
Heerenveen.
The Alkmaarders allowed Heerenveen
to score the equalizer in the 90th minute of the game
and now share the top spot with Ajax and NAC Breda.
Both Heerenveen and AZ showed why
they are so popular with those who love offensive football,
as they offered the spectators in the Abe Lenstra Stadium
a very entertaining game with ever changing chances
and a just 3-3 result.
Heerenveen took the lead once:
after 11 minutes Pavel Wojciechowski opened the score.
The score remained that way until
half-time, but after the break AZ threw off all chains
and raised the pace of the game.
Of course it had to be Mounir Mounir
El Hamdaoui to score the equalizer, although the Eredivisie
topscorer benefited from a mistake by Heerenveen goal
keeper Kenny Steppe.
The young (18) Belgian goal keeper
was bet two more times and once it was again after he
had made a mistake.
When Australian center forward
Brett Holman made it 1-2 there was nothing Steppe could
do, but the way he caused AZ third by his fellow Belgian
Sebastien Pocognoli was clumsy.
Trying to clear he played the ball
into the feet of Demy de Zeeuw.
Steppe saved De Zeeuw's effort
with a desperate lunge at the feet of the AZ midfielder,
but the rebound fell to the feet of Pocognoli who scored
from 16 meters out into an empty goal.
Heerenveen had another youngster
up front who made sure Steppe's mistakes didn't hurt
his team too hard by beating AZ stopper Sergio Romero
twice, scoring his second in the 90th minute.
Louis van Gaal bemoaned the late
Friesian goal that meant the first point loss for his
team after six consecutive wins.
"It's very annoying that that
ball went in. We didn't play well in the first half.
But after the break things improved. There was more
movement and we connected better to our forwards, especially
after the entry of Brett Holman."
After Pocognoli's goal the verdict
seemed clear.
"All we had to do was keep
possession, but that didn't work out so well,"
Van Gaal saw.
"We went looking for more
goals, but sometimes it's better to be smart and take
the lead over the 90 minutes."
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