NEC Nijmegen 2-2 Excelsior result, stats and report

NEC Nijmegen had the ball, the chances, and the better part of the game. They still could not win it. That is the thing. Excelsior came to Nijmegen with bodies missing, a suspended player already watching from home, and they left with a point. That tells you everything about NEC's problems at the back end of matches.

The Match in Brief

Excelsior drew first blood through Adam Tahaui on ten minutes, finishing with his left foot after being set up by Willum Thór Willumsson. It was a composed finish and it gave the visitors an early foothold they frankly did not deserve given what followed. NEC had the ball and they had the space. Excelsior sat in and made themselves hard to break down.

David Garden levelled for NEC just before half-time, converting from a right-foot shot with Irakli Yegoian picking up the assist. It was the goal NEC's pressure demanded and it sent the teams in level at 1-1. You could argue NEC should have been ahead by then. They had created enough.

Valentin Sulzbacher put NEC in front on 73 minutes. He had only been on the pitch since minute 71, coming on as a substitute and scoring almost immediately. The assist went to Aymen Sliti, who had also come on from the bench. Credit where it is due. The manager made the right calls and they paid off. NEC looked like they were going to see it out.

They did not. Noé Lebreton punished them in stoppage time, finishing with his left foot in the 90th minute with Perr Schuurs picking up the assist. A point for Excelsior. Two points dropped for NEC. End of.

The Numbers Tell a Clear Story

NEC had 69 per cent of the ball. They completed 582 passes to Excelsior's 213. They had 145 attacks to NEC's 90 and 68 dangerous attacks to Excelsior's 21. On shots, NEC had 14 in total to Excelsior's 11. NEC had five shots on target. Excelsior had three.

Listen, those numbers are damning for Excelsior if you look at the scoreline. They had a fraction of the ball and nowhere near the attacking output. And yet they came away with a point. That is not a tactical triumph. That is the home side failing to take their chances when it mattered.

NEC created five big chances and missed three of them. That is unacceptable at home. You get five big chances in a game, you win. Simple as that. Their composure in the final third was not good enough, and Excelsior made them pay for every one of those misses.

Discipline Was a Problem for NEC

NEC picked up three yellow cards in this match. Lennard Hartjes was booked for a foul on 52 minutes. Rick Meissen followed him into the referee's book on 70 minutes. Valentin Sulzbacher, the same man who scored the go-ahead goal, picked up a booking deep in stoppage time. Three yellows for the home side against one for Excelsior, where Jamiro Monteiro was booked in just the fourth minute.

The thing is, that early booking for Monteiro actually worked in Excelsior's favour. He was substituted off at half-time, replaced by Perr Schuurs, and the manager managed the situation carefully. NEC's yellow cards in the second half tell their own story. They were frustrated. Sides that are in control of a game do not collect cards from frustration. They collect cards because they are winning battles. NEC were not winning enough of them when it mattered.

Excelsior's Squad Situation

Excelsior arrived in Nijmegen with significant injury problems. The data shows multiple players out, including two with major injuries and one serving a suspension that runs until January 2027. Carrying that kind of weight and still pulling a point out of a game where you were second best for long periods shows desire. I will give them that. Standards in defence held when it counted.

Their goalkeeper made three saves. NEC's goalkeeper made one. That tells its own story. Excelsior's keeper was busier and he did his job. NEC's keeper barely needed to work and still conceded twice. That is not the goalkeeper's fault. That is the defence in front of him.

What This Means for Both Sides

Going into this match, NEC had won three and lost two of their previous five Eredivisie matches. They scored eleven and conceded eight across those five games. Every single one of those five matches saw both teams score. Zero clean sheets. That is a pattern. It is not bad luck. It is a structural problem at the back and it showed again here.

Excelsior came in having won four of their last five Eredivisie matches and kept two clean sheets in that sample. They were in form and they competed. Even with ten outfield players you could name having injury concerns, they competed. Tahaui scored early. Lebreton scored late. The basics of being hard to beat were largely in place even when they were second best with the ball.

The Substitutes Won Excelsior a Point

Kevin Kers and Noé Lebreton came on at the 63rd minute for Excelsior. Lebreton scored the equaliser. That is what your bench is for. You bring on fresh legs with quality and they change the game. Lebreton did exactly that.

NEC's subs also contributed. Sulzbacher scored within two minutes of coming on. The difference is NEC could not protect their lead for seventeen minutes. Excelsior's substitutes saw them over the line for a point. NEC's substitutes were not enough to see them over the line for three. That is the accountability question NEC's manager needs to be asking this week.

This was a match NEC should have won. They had the ball, the chances, and the lead. What they did not have was the concentration to close it out. Excelsior showed desire when their backs were against the wall. NEC showed vulnerability when a win was within reach. In a results business, that is the difference between three points and one. And one is not good enough when you are playing at home.