March 02, 2024 – 10:59 PM
Sparta Rotterdam took one point against AZ this afternoon. It ended 1-1 at a sold-out Kasteel. Arno Verschueren scored a result with a striking header.
Trainer Jeroen Rijsdijk saw another player drop out with an injury in the run-up to the match against AZ. Captain Bart Vriends was not fit and was logically replaced by Rick Meissen. The defender also relieved Vriends in the match against NEC. Good news was the return of Jonathan de Guzmán after a suspension. He was preferred in midfield to Metinho. At AZ we saw former Spartan Sven Mijnans in the starting line-up.
The match started lively, with AZ already appearing in front of Sparta’s goal after just over two minutes of play. After a long ball, Vangelis Pavlidis passed goalkeeper Nick Olij, but the angle was too difficult to score. The Greek hit the side netting. On a pass from David Møller Wolfe, Sven Mijnans’ attempt met the same fate one minute later. Although the first two opportunities were for AZ, Sparta certainly showed themselves in the first fifteen minutes. For example, Koki Saito had a shot opportunity after a wonderful attack, but he only produced a roll. A little later there was more conviction in Jonathan de Guzmán’s bet, but AZ goalie Matthew Ryan was able to tap the ball over.
After a nice opening phase, little else happened at Het Kasteel. Sparta did not create much, but on the other hand also had little to fear from AZ. In the 23rd minute, the Alkmaarders became dangerous again. Pavlidis had broken through, who this time did not choose to pass Olij, but tried to lift the ball over the goalkeeper. However, Olij, who is again in the pre-selection of the Dutch National Team, had an adequate answer to his attempt. Two minutes later, however, AZ still took the lead. Mijnans found Yukinari Sugawara on the right side of the field, who scored the 0-1 with a shot into the far corner. Sparta had to recover from this sudden goal, but still appeared dangerously in front of AZ’s goal twice in the final phase of the first half. For example, a long shot from Djevencio van der Kust just went over and Ryan responded attentively to a sharp cross from Shunsuke Mito.
In the second half, Sparta was able to give chase and got off to a good start. It did not produce any real opportunities, but Sparta did have control of the match in the first fifteen minutes of the second act. Yet it was AZ that came close to 0-2 out of nowhere. Amid applause for the deceased Sparta supporter Peter van Beek, Pavlidis received the ball on a silver platter from Ruben van Bommel. However, the Greek saw Olij respond well to his header, which prevented the 0-2 with some help from the crossbar. Three minutes later, Van Bommel tried it himself, although his slider did not go on target.
It was a long wait for the first real Spartan chance in the second half, but it was for Tobias Lauritsen. The tall Norwegian was found by Saito, but saw Ryan stylishly turn his header. However, fifteen minutes before the end the score was 1-1. Charles-Andreas Brym, who was on the field for one minute, passed the ball perfectly to Arno Verschueren. From close range, the Belgian headed the equalizer onto the scoreboard: 1-1. In the final phase, it was AZ that was most on the hunt for victory. This included Lequincio Zeefuik. The strong striker also had a chance, but shot over via the well-playing Mike Eerdhuijzen. One minute later Pavlidis was a lot closer to 1-2. His effort went just wide. In the six minutes of injury time, Sparta held on quite easily, leaving them with one point from the meeting with AZ.
The team of coach Jeroen Rijsdijk can be quite satisfied with this result. This means Sparta remains ninth in the Eredivisie. Next week the Rotterdam team will visit FC Twente.
Sparta Rotterdam line-up:
Nick Olij, Saïd Bakari, Rick Meissen, Mike Eerdhuijzen, Djevencio van der Kust, Jonathan de Guzmán (74. Pelle Clement), Shunsuke Mito (74. Charles-Andreas Brym), Joshua Kitolano, Tobias Lauritsen, Arno Verschueren, Koki Saito ( 90. Tijs Velthuis)