Feyenoord Turn It Around: Three Goals in 12 Minutes Sink NEC Nijmegen
SportSignals Match Desk · Football analysis desk ·
This is the kind of second half that tells you everything you need to know about a team. Feyenoord went to Nijmegen, absorbed the first half without scoring, and then turned NEC inside out in twelve minutes. Three goals. Zechiël. Valente. Schaken. Game over. End of.
What Happened: The Match in Full
The first half was tight. Both sets of players got through it without a goal, though neither side was exactly convincing going forward. The flashpoint came in first-half stoppage time, when Noé Lebreton picked up a yellow card for Feyenoord and Gjivai Zechiël was booked on the NEC side, both for arguing. Not ideal from either team. But Zechiël, to his credit, came out after the break with the right attitude.
The thing is, Feyenoord took control of this match the moment the second half started and never relinquished it. Zechiël drove home a right-foot shot in the 52nd minute to put Feyenoord ahead. NEC responded. Darko Nejasmic pulled one back for Nijmegen with a left-foot finish in the 55th minute, and suddenly you thought this was going to be a contest. It was not.
Feyenoord were two goals better on the day. Luciano Valente made it 2-1 in the 61st minute, assisted by Zechiël, who had clearly decided that a yellow card in the first half was not going to slow him down. Then Jerayno Schaken, who had only just come on as a substitute at the 59th minute, scored in the 64th. Schaken was also assisted by Zechiël. That is a goal and two assists after being booked. That is the kind of performance that wins matches.
The Stats Tell a Clear Story
Feyenoord dominated possession. They had 63 per cent of the ball. They completed 439 passes to NEC's 246. They generated 124 attacks to NEC's 77, and 70 dangerous attacks to NEC's 42. Feyenoord had 15 interceptions to NEC's 9. On almost every measure that matters for a team trying to control and win a game, Feyenoord were superior.
Now, one number will confuse people who only look at the scoreline. NEC had six shots on target to Feyenoord's two. NEC had 11 shots on target and off target combined in goal attempts, against Feyenoord's six. That tells you something important. Feyenoord were clinical. NEC were not. Feyenoord created one big chance and scored three goals. NEC created four big chances and scored one goal. That is the difference between a side with standards in front of goal and a side that still has work to do. Execution is a basic. You either do it or you do not.
Feyenoord also put 26 crosses into the box. NEC managed eight. Feyenoord's volume and variety in attack gave NEC problems all afternoon, even if the shot numbers did not reflect it. When you have that much of the ball and you use it intelligently, the scoreline tends to take care of itself.
Zechiël: The Player of the Match, Simple as That
Listen, you do not get booked in first-half injury time and then come out and score and assist twice without having something about you. Zechiël was the standout performer. A goal in the 52nd minute. An assist for Valente in the 61st. An assist for Schaken in the 64th. That is the kind of influence on a game that you cannot argue with. He competed. He delivered. That is all I ask of any player.
Jerayno Schaken deserves a mention too. On the pitch for five minutes before he scored. That is the attitude you want from a substitute. He came on with desire and made an immediate impact. You do not always get that.
NEC's Problems at the Back
NEC are carrying injury problems. The data shows multiple players out, including a long-term absentee who has been sidelined since February. Their squad has been tested, and on this evidence their defensive organisation is not where it needs to be. Conceding three goals in twelve minutes at home is not acceptable at any level. It does not matter how many shots you put on the opposition's goal. If you cannot hold a shape and stop the bleeding, you lose.
The thing is, NEC's recent form coming into this match was not bad. Three wins from their last five Eredivisie fixtures, with goals being scored in every one of those games. But they have kept zero clean sheets across that same five-match run. That is a pattern. It is a problem of basics in their own half, and Feyenoord exposed it thoroughly.
Feyenoord's Consistency
Feyenoord came into this match with three wins and two draws from their five most recent Eredivisie fixtures. No defeats. They have won five and drawn five from their last ten in this competition. They conceded on Saturday, as they have done regularly, but their ability to score goals in volume is what carries them. Against Feyenoord's recent record, the only question coming into this match was whether NEC could stay in it long enough to hurt them. For about three minutes after Nejasmic's equaliser, the answer looked like yes. Then Feyenoord answered that question decisively.
The Bottom Line
Feyenoord did what good teams do. They absorbed an early period without finding a goal, stayed composed when NEC pulled level, and then finished the match off with ruthless efficiency inside twelve second-half minutes. Three different scorers. Zechiël all over everything. Clean execution when it mattered. NEC competed and created chances but could not convert, and their defence had no answer once Feyenoord found their rhythm. The scoreline was right. Feyenoord were better, and they made it count. Accountability goes both ways on a pitch, and NEC's backline will know they let the team down. That is a conversation for their own dressing room to have.
