Fortuna Sittard suffered a 0-2 home defeat to AZ in the Eredivisie on Saturday, 22 August. The hosts were unable to match the efficiency of the visitors from Alkmaar, who secured their third consecutive victory to start the season.
The match was covered in a live blog by NH Nieuws. AZ coach Leeroy Echteld kept his starting eleven unchanged, and the decision paid off. Jizz Hornkamp opened the scoring before halftime and sealed the 0-2 result in the fourth minute of added time. That late goal came from an assist by Calvin Stengs. Goalkeeper Matthijs Branderhorst was between the posts for Fortuna, while Jari De Busser guarded AZ's goal.
How did the match finish?
The game seemed locked for a long period but had a dramatic finale in stoppage time. The referee indicated a minimum of four added minutes. During this period, substitute Ayoub Oufkir forced a save from Branderhorst. Just before that, Fortuna substitute Mo Ihattaren had a golden opportunity. He was sent deep, outpaced De Busser, but shot wide of the empty net. For AZ, Mexx Meerdink had a big chance blocked in the 83rd minute, as did an attempt from Ro-Zangelo Daal around the same time.
AZ did suffer an injury setback. Elijah Dijkstra picked up a knock and was replaced by Seiya Maikuma. That substitution was part of a double change, which also saw Meerdink make way for Oufkir. Despite this disruption, AZ kept a clean sheet and secured all three points.
Where does Fortuna Sittard stand now?
The defeat means Fortuna Sittard remains in eighth place in the Eredivisie with four points from three matches. The team has a goal difference of zero, having scored five and conceded five. Their recent form shows a loss, a win, and a draw. The gap to league leaders AZ Alkmaar has now stretched to five points. Fans can follow the current league position on our standings page.
What is the next fixture?
Recovery must come quickly, as the next match is already on the horizon. Fortuna Sittard travels to face Groningen in an away fixture on Thursday, 28 August. Groningen currently sits fifth in the table, making it a tough challenge. The full schedule can be found on our fixtures page. Coach Danny Buijs's squad will need to regroup to take points in the north.
The home loss to AZ is a setback, but the season is still young. Fortuna Sittard has the coming weeks to get their points tally back on track. The season's statistics so far are available on our stats page.
