FC Utrecht were unable to get past bottom club ADO Den Haag today. Despite their dominance, the final score in the Galgenwaard was 1-1.

Giovanni Troupée suddenly appeared from the right wing as he likes to do and so often does. The right back put in a cross and Richairo Zivkovic was the right man in precisely the right place. The striker gave the ball the final and decisive touch. A text-book goal just before half time. A goal that made it 1-1. A goal that heralded a Utrecht stampede.

Malone hurts Utrecht
It’s clear why Utrecht laid siege to Ado’s goalmouth. They were hunting for a second goal. Trainer/coach Erik ten Hag’s team needed it because Dion Malone had already punished an individual mistake in the last line after 15 minutes. He gave the team from The Hague the lead over Utrecht: 0-1.

Ado on the backfoot
But a good 20 minutes later, the pain was eased and the teams were on a level footing again. And Utrecht tried to make the most of it. They might have been calling all the shots and playing with determination but ADO Den Haag kept blocking them and preventing them from pulling ahead.

Ayoub hits the bar
Alfons Groenendijk’s team held firm in the Galgenwaard. Utrecht brought on fresh attacking blood but they couldn’t get past goalkeeper Robert Zwinkels a second time. To be fair, the last man didn’t even deserve all the credit. He just wasn’t tested hard enough. There were shots, but they often went over or wide or ended up in the forest of Ado legs in and around the box. The goal was threatened only once. Straight after the break, Yassin Ayoub let rip and Zwinkels didn’t have an answer. But the bar came to the rescue for the team from The Hague.

Van der Meer taken off
Robin van der Meer’s encounter against his former youth team was limited to 45 minutes. The Utrecht defender remained in the dressing room with an injury. He was replaced with Kevin Conboy. Sébastien Haller missed the game because of family circumstances. He became a father for the first time today.

Two away games
Utrecht’s next two games are away from home. Next weekend, Ten Hag’s team are the guests at Heracles Almelo. A week later, they are away to NEC. In the following week there are no games in the Eredivisie on account of internationals.

FC Utrecht - ADO Den Haag 1-1 (1-1)
16. Dion Malone 0-1
40. Richairo Zivkovic 1-1

Yellow cards: Willem Janssen, Gyrano Kerk, Nick Venema (all FC Utrecht), Wilfried Kanon, Guyon Fernandez, Aaron Meijers en Tyronne Ebuehi (all ADO Den Haag).

Attendance: 17,712.

Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük.

FC Utrecht line-up:
David Jensen; Giovanni Troupée, Ramon Leeuwin, Willem Janssen, Robin van der Meer (46. Kevin Conboy); Wout Brama, Sofyan Amrabat, Yassin Ayoub, Nacer Barazite; Richairo Zivkovic (86. Nick Venema), Gyrano Kerk (74. Zakaria Labyad).

ADO Den Haag line-up:
Robert Zwinkels; Tyronne Ebuehi, Tom Beugelsdijk, Wilfried Kanon, Aaron Meijers; Dion Malone, Danny Bakker, Donny Gorter; Ruben Schaken (68. Sheraldo Becker), Guyon Fernandez (46. Mike Havenaar), Edouard Duplan (82. Randy Wolters).