ADO gives it all away against Almere City

ADO Den Haag suffered a painful defeat at home against Almere City on Sunday afternoon: 2-3. There seemed to be no problem when the team from The Hague took a comfortable 2-0 lead early in the meeting, but a dramatic second half killed the home team. Due to the new defeat, promotion is further away than ever for ADO.

Prior to the game, the deficit in eighth place, which entitles them to play play-offs for promotion to the premier league at the end of the season, was six points. As a result, it was clear that only a victory was enough for the formation from The Hague.

The game was barely two minutes old when the first life-sized opportunity could already be noted. Titouan Thomas choked on the ball, after which former ADO striker Lance Duijvestijn had an excellent opportunity to hurt his former employer, but the attacker failed hopelessly.

Lightning-fast double fittings for ADO
Five minutes later, the ball was against the ropes on the other side of the field. And how… Mario Bilate, who started as a shadow striker, gave an excellent pass from the right flank of the field. Verheydt did not hesitate for a moment and hammered the ball in the top right corner with a technically clever volley. His ninth goal of the season causes quite a stir with the ruddy attack leader of the Residentieclub.

In the twelfth minute the margin was increased to two and again Bilate was involved in the goal. The 31-year-old attacker headed the ball back from a corner and this time it was the other Thomas on the field who scored. Titouan Thomas could easily tap in from close range: 2-0.

ADO dominated and played strongly against the number three in the ranking. Kornelius Hansen brought the tension back from scratch. Duijvestijn launched the Norwegian with a cunning heel and thus completely split the ADO defense. Face to face with goalkeeper Sonny Stevens, the attacker made no mistake: 2-1. Tyrese Asante was on the outside covering.

The goal against seemed to upset Dick Advocaat’s team and suddenly one player after the other lost the ball. Stije Resink had a huge opportunity in the 42nd minute. The Almere midfielder was allowed to play freely, but mowed the ball wildly, so that ADO took the break with a 2-1 lead.

ADO comes out of the locker room dramatically
The hosts came out of the tea break dramatically. Just over a minute into the second half, the 2-2 was already in the goal. Right back Hamdi Akujobi was able to tap in. The decline of ADO compared to the first quarter of the game was shocking.

The level dropped to a questionable level, while Almere City continued to grow in the game. The fact that Duijvestijn scored the 2-3 in the 64th minute was hardly surprising. The 24-year-old attacker from Wateringen passed Stevens with a great shot.

Lawyer makes rigorous decision
Hoping to force something, Advocaat applied a quadruple substitution when entering the Haagse Kwartiertje. Remarkably enough, captain Boy Kemper was also taken to the side. There seemed to be no injury. The captain was one of the few who managed to escape the total malaise of the ADO game.

Supported by the audience and a busy coaching Lawyer, ADO was shouted forward. The attack was sought with might and main in the hope of being able to score another hit and thus keep some prospects for eighth place. ADO did not succeed in that mission, as a result of which the season seems to have fizzled out. After all, number eight NAC Breda played one game less than ADO Den Haag. There are still five games to go this season.