Netherlands Weekend Review

by Greg Seltzer - September 23, 2007

 
▪ Nguyen Healing Back Home

Michael Bradley scored again as Heerenveen suffered a last minute FC Utrecht winner, while Charles Kazlauskas and TOP dropped a slim decision at Zwolle.

▪ Kazlauskas Relief Over First Win
▪ Van den Bergh Wings It
 

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WASTEFULNESS COSTS HEERENVEEN
FC Utrecht left Heerenveen with full points after a 90th minute Giuseppe Rossini free kick capped a 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon.

Michael Bradley went 90 minutes and netted for the third straight game, but his error helped the visitors open the scoring early.

The US international's had a midfield pass blocked in the other direction, starting an Utreg breakout. Leroy George led Robin Nelisse into the are on the left, and the forward obliged with a cool finish over a sprawling Brian Vandenbussche.

Michael Dingsdag seemed to have a fast equalizer in the net four minutes later, but the referee correctly noted that the defender used his hand. In a near carbon copy, a second chance corner kick was spilled by FC Utrecht keeper Michel Vorm into his own net, but Dingsdag was appropriately whistled for clattering into the opponent.

In the 21st minute, Danijel Pranjic went close after a splendid toe poke switch by Roy Beerens, his 20-meter blast rippling the side netting just beyond the near post. Beerens then ran the right to tee up Gerald Sibon from 16 meters, but the striker somehow fired over.

Frisians boss Gertjan Verbeek made two changes at the break, and one of them played in part in Bradley's 50th minute leveler. Poland international Radoslaw Matusiak was able to receive with his back to goal, turn and fire, with the American following up to hammer home the rebound.

Bradley nearly put his team ahead moments later on a similar effort. Beerens found space on the right to cross, with Vorm sprawling to block the centering feed.

The former MetroStar steamed through to have his follow up shot saved, with the netminder injuring his knee in the process. Vorm would only last a few more minutes before being replaced by Guadeloupe star man Franck Grandel.

Having been practically played off the park for most of the hour, Utrecht started to assert themselves immediately after the change, but Rossini and Nelisse fired inches wide from good positions.

With seven minutes left, the resurgent visitors were back in front. Vandenbussche stood up to a thundering Rossini shot, but left the rebound right back up the middle and Nelisse made no mistake for his brace.

The lead would only last two minutes as Miralem Sulejmani was granted too much space to collect and poke home a Michel Breuer lead pass.

The excitement was only beginning as Heerenveen did everything but score from a long Pranjic free kick a minute later. The stunning sequence began with Breuer flicking back toward the middle, where Bradley rang the crossbar with a leaping side-kick try.

The American then nodded back in an identical manner for Matusiak to place his header off the still vibrating woodwork, then late follow up man Pranjic was stopped on his rebound try by a recovering Grandel.

The winner came in the final minute of regulation as Rossini's low 25-meter drive took a deflection in the wall to fool Vandenbussche.

Scoring
FCU - Robin Nelisse 3 (Leroy George) 2'
HEER - Michael Bradley 2 50'
FCU - Robin Nelisse 4 (Sander Keller) 83'
HEER - Miralem Sulejmani 3 (Michel Breuer) 85'
FCU - Giuseppe Rossini 1 90'

Line-ups
HEER - Brian Vandenbussche; Gianni Zuiverloon, Kristian Bak-Nielsen, Michael Dingsdag, Michel Breuer, Roy Beerens (Jakob Poulsen 88'), Michael Bradley, Geert Arend Roorda (Thomas Prager 46'), Danijel Pranjic, Gerald Sibon (Radoslaw Matusiak 46'), Miralem Sulejmani

FCU - Michel Vorm (Franck Grandel 60'); Tim Cornelisse, Francis Dickoh, Sander Keller, Erik Pieters, Tom Caluwé (Alje Schut 90'), Gregor van Dijk, Joest Broerse, Leroy George, Robin Nelisse, Lucian Sânmartean (Giuseppe Rossini 54')

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EARLY GOAL DOOMS TOP
Tozé's strike midway through the opening period was enough for FC Zwolle to see off Friday night guests TOP Oss.

Charles Kazlauskas went the full route at right back.

Left winger Dirk Boerrigter switched sides to try his luck from the right channel in the sixth minute, but Wilko de Vogt was up to the task.

TOP should have gone on top when Revy Rosalia picked out Wouter van den Herik on a smart diagonal run, but the winger got a little too fancy on the breakaway finish and was denied by Zwolle keeper Diederick Boer.

Moments after Tozé tipped a centering pass wide on the stretch, the Portuguese striker made good on a second chance. Albert van den Haar took advantage of a space to breach the area, then flipped the ball square for his teammate to tap home.

The visitors nearly equalized when Davy Zafarin collected an over hit TOP corner kick and let fly with a swerving blast, but Boer dove to tip the effort way from his top corner.

Marcel de Bruijn was able to nod home an apparent second near the break, but it was correctly waved away for an airborne foul.

De Vogt did his part to keep the game within reach in the second half, executing fine low saves on Anton Jongsma, Van den Haar and Boerrigter, but his teammates were unable to muster much of a rally attack.

Scoring
FCZ - Tozé 4 (Albert van den Haar) 21'

TOP - Wilko de Vogt; Charles Kazlauskas, Niek Ripson, Regilio Jacobs, Bart van Hintum, Dirk Schoofs, Revy Rosalia (Yvo van Engelen 39'), Davy Zafarin, Erik van der Ven (Aschwin Christina 75'), Wouter van den Herik, Erik Quekel (Guillermo Zschüsschen 62')

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ON THE SIDELINE
PSV Eindhoven drilled previously unbeaten Feyenoord 4-0 on Sunday without injured attacker Lee Nguyen.

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