February 17, 2024 – 8:50 PM
Sparta Rotterdam booked an important derby victory over Excelsior tonight. At a swirling Castle it ended 4-2 after a dramatic start. On behalf of Sparta, Tobias Lauritsen was the match winner with two goals, Arno Verschueren and Charles-Andreas Brym were also accurate.
There was good news for trainer Jeroen Rijsdijk, because the infirmary was empty in the run-up to the next city derby. Only Camiel Neghli was not part of the match selection today. Bart Vriends and Tobias Lauritsen were back and fit enough for a starting spot. That was at the expense of Rick Meissen and Charles-Andreas Brym. Furthermore, Djevencio van der Kust was preferred to Saïd Bakari and there was a starting place for Jonathan de Guzmán. Shunsuke Mito therefore had to settle for a place on the bench. Tijs Velthuis was also part of the match selection again after weeks of injuries.
Sparta started the city derby brightly and that led to a big chance after just two minutes. Pelle Clement cleverly cut down his opponent and tested Stijn van Gassel. However, the goalie was able to save his attempt from the corner. Not much later, Excelsior showed itself for the first time, although Cisse Sandra did not get a shot. Kik Pierie succeeded after ten minutes of play and that immediately resulted in the 0-1. The defender was completely free at a corner kick and shot in hard. Sparta had not yet recovered from this downer, when Excelsior scored again. Couhaib Driouech passed the ball low, after which there was miscommunication in Sparta’s defense. Lance Duijvestijn made good use of this and scored the 0-2.
Text continues below photo. (Photo Carla Vos).
Sparta had a poor start to the match, but came back into the match somewhat out of nowhere after 23 minutes of play. Joshua Kitolano struggled past Excelsior’s defense, after which the ball reached Arno Verschueren via Tobias Lauritsen. The Belgian, who had already missed a chance to score the tying goal, hit the ball past Van Gassel from the edge of the penalty area: 1-2. Sparta then got into the match better and completely cleared the deficit after half an hour of play. Koki Saito passed three Excelsior players with a brilliant action. The Japanese then put the ball back to Bart Vriends, who decided to take a swing. The ball appeared behind Van Gassel via an Excelsior player and Lauritsen: 2-2. As a result, the positive mood returned to Het Kasteel and Sparta had chances to make it 3-2 before half-time. First, Pierie just gave the ball as a gift to Saito, who shot. However, Van Gassel was able to save the ball with his foot, after which Jonathan de Guzmán’s rebound went over. Just before half time, Verschueren passed the ball low to Lauritsen, but he shot the ball straight into Van Gassel’s hands.
Text continues below photo. (Photo Carla Vos)
As a result, the score remained at 2-2 after an entertaining first half and Sparta had to hunt for the much-needed three points in the second half. The lords of the castle soon got a serious chance. Verschueren had broken through on the right side of the field and almost reached Saito, were it not for Van Gassel’s narrow intervention. After that, little more happened in Rotterdam-West. It became a real fighting match with many fouls, which is fitting for a derby. For example, Pelle Clement, Jonathan de Guzmán, Bart Vriends and Djevencio van der Kust received a yellow card soon after the break. After more than an hour of play, Sparta made three changes: Vriends, De Guzmán and Clement were replaced by Rick Meissen, Metinho and Shunsuke Mito.
Text continues below photo. (Photo: Mischa Keemink)
Not much happened in the second half, but fifteen minutes before the end, Sparta suddenly took the lead. Saito’s corner ended up with Lauritsen, who extended the ball with his head and headed it through the post! As a result, Het Kasteel exploded and three points were suddenly close. Especially when Saito and Verschueren were only able to approach Van Gassel in the final phase. Saito pushed the ball high over and Verschueren bumped into Van Gassel. As a result, the derby remained undecided, although Excelsior was hardly able to attack anymore. Yet Pierie was still close to 3-3. His cross ended up hitting the top of the crossbar. It was the start of a final offensive for Excelsior. Noah Naujoks got the best chance. The midfielder cleverly extended the ball with his head, but Nick Olij was able to prevent the 3-3 with a clever save.
Text continues below photo. (Photo: Mischa Keemink)
Sparta also remained upright in the six minutes of injury time. It even became 4-2 in the closing seconds via Charles-Andreas Brym. The striker could only go to an empty goal after Van Gassel was involved in a corner kick. As a result, Sparta achieved an important derby victory against Excelsior. Tobias Lauritsen was the match winner with two goals. Sparta thus climbs to eighth place in the rankings. Next week the red and white will visit NEC
Sparta Rotterdam line-up:
Nick Olij, Djevencio van der Kust, Bart Vriends (67. Rick Meissen), Mike Eerdhuijzen, Django Warmerdam (25. Saìd Bakari), Jonathan de Guzmán (67. Metinho), Pelle Clement (67. Shunsuke Mito), Joshua Kitolano, Tobias Lauritsen (78. Charles-Andreas Brym), Arno Verschueren, Koki Saito
Photo Carla Vos.