Sparta Rotterdam threw away a two-goal lead against 10-man Groningen. 

The hosts made an excellent start to the game and found themselves 2-0 up after only 20 minutes. Paco van Moorsel slotted in from close range after Sergio Padt spilled the ball at his feet to make it 1-0 and ten minutes later Ivan Calero made it 2-0 by sliding the ball over the line.

However, moments after Sparta’s second, Groningen pulled a goal back through Ruben Jenssen. Simon Tibbling appeared to be offside in the build-up to the goal, but it stood despite the linesman putting his flag up. Just before half time, Groningen leveled through Mimoun Mahi who found the bottom corner with a lovely strike from just outside the box.

Early in the second half, Juninho Bacuna was shown his third red card of the season to reduce Groningen to ten men. However, Sparta couldn’t take advantage of the extra man as Matthias Pogba and van Moorsel both missed decent chances late on.

The point means Sparta climb to 15th while Groningen are 10th.




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