AZ Alkmaar no longer unbeatable
Thursday 05 March 2009
They were the last to have beaten
them this season and now they have done it again: NAC
beat AZ on Thursday in the quarterfinal of the KNVB
Cup and will now meet FC Twente in Enschede in the semis.
And it had to be the goal keeper
hardly ever concedes this season - Sergio Romero - who
was to blame for both goals NAC scored in Alkmaar.
After an early goal of Moussa Dembele
AZ seemed to have an easy night until Romero made a
mess of a seemingly easy shot of Nourdin Boukhari.
It was an equalizer out of the
blue, although not fully unjustified.
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Romero breaks his hand
Angry with the elimination of his team from the
cup and with his key role in the defeat AZ goal
keeper Sergio Romero made matters even worse for
himself after the game.
Out of sheer frustration the Argentinean hit
the dressing room wall with his hand and broke
several bones.
It means Romero will be out for a number of weeks
and will most likely miss most or all of the decisive
league games (9).
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NAC Breda played a decent game
but did not have the referee on their side.
The AZ goal came after a wrongly
awarded free kick and twice the visitors had every right
to claim a penalty.
AZ took it easy after Dembeles
goal and had one chance (Martens hitting the post) to
double the score.
Romero's howler then brought NAC
back into the game and AZ were unable to pick up the
pace.
Up front Mounir el Hamdaoui was
too selfish at times and at the back Kees Luijckx looked
very shaky.
NAC sensed their opponents were
vulnerable and it seemed only logical they decided the
game fifteen minutes from the end.
Boukhari found Anthony Lurling
who (too) easily sent Romero the wrong way and put the
ball in the back of the net.
El Hamdaoui and Dembele came close
to an equalizer but it wasn't enough the third defeat
of the season.
It meant not only an end to the
unbeaten status of AZ but also an end to AZ's aspirations
to win the double.
For NAC Breda the win means they
have reached the semis of the KNVB Cup for the fourth
time in six years.
The three previous times it was
the last stop for them and this time an away game to
FC Twente Enschede does not increase their chances of
reaching the final.
Score
Goals
| M. Dembélé 13' |
1-0 |
|
|
1-1 |
N. Boukhari 55' |
|
1-2 |
A. Lurling 77' |
Cards
| |
|
P. Mtiliga 34'
|
| K. Luijckx 49'
|
|
|
| |
|
C. Fehér 65'
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Lineups
| S. Romero |
|
|
J. ten Rouwelaar |
|
| G. Swerts |
46' K. Luijckx |
|
P. Mtiliga |
|
| K. Jaliens |
|
|
R. Penders |
|
| S. Poulsen |
|
|
T. Loran |
|
| R. Klavan |
|
|
K. Kwakman |
|
| M. Martens |
|
|
C. Fehér |
|
| S. Schaars |
|
|
J. Kolkka |
|
| D. de Zeeuw |
|
|
D. Gorter |
|
| M. Dembélé |
|
|
N. Boukhari |
87' M. Kramer |
| M. El Hamdaoui |
|
|
E. Cairo |
80' T. van der Leegte |
| G. Pellè |
|
|
A. Lurling |
83' M. Reuser |
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