On Sun Jan 8th, in week 15, FC Groningen will travel to Rotterdam to battle Excelsior in a clash of these two evenly matched Eredivisie teams. Weather on match day is looking like a windy and cool day, with daytime temperatures of only 7 degrees, so hopefuly the match makes up for the weather. Excelsior is fresh off their 1-5 loss against Feyenoord. Kenzo Goudmijn struck first for Excelsior in the 4th minute on a feed from Marouan Azarkan, then Sebastian Szymański tied it up for Feyenoord in the 11th minute on a feed from Javairô Dilrosun But luckily in the 20th minute, they were able to complete the comback with a goal by Orkun Kökçü. They’re hoping to improve on their recent performance, having earned only 7 points in their last 10 matches, while 15th placed FC Groningen is fresh off their 2-3 loss against Fortuna Sittard. Ricardo Pepi struck first for FC Groningen in the 45th minute on a feed from Ragnar Oratmangoen, then Paul Gladon tied it up for Fortuna Sittard in the 78th minute on a feed from Ivo Pinto Finally they completed the comback in the 94th minute on a goal by Tijanni Noslin to cap off a wild match. They’re hoping to improve on their recent performance, having lost 7 of their last 10.
In their last match together, in Van Donge & De Roo Stadion, FC Groningen took the match by a score of 4 to 2. Niemeijer struck first for Excelsior in the 23rd minute, then in the 1st minute of the first half’s stoppage time, Mo El Hankouri sent in a beautiful pass which was converted by Cyril Ngonge But fortunately they were able to complete the comaback in the 111th minute on a goal by Jörgen Strand Larsen.
FC Groningen’s top weapon lately has been Ricardo Pepi, who has 3 goals in the last 5 matches. Lazaros Lamprou and Kenzo Goudmijn are the top scorers for Excelsior in the last 5 matches, but unfortunately they only have one goal.