Fortuna Sittard has suffered their first defeat under Julio Velázquez after they lost 3-1 at Sparta Rotterdam.
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Since Velazquez took charge, Fortuna Sittard had gone on a six-game unbeaten run, and they got off to a good start on Saturday as Tijjani Noslin fired them in front after 19 minutes.
Halfway through the first half, Arno Verschueren equalised for the hosts with a header before the game got a bit fiery.
Referee Serdar Gözübüyük got it from both benches and there was a remarkable moment before the break as Buruk Yilmaz stopped playing when having a shooting chance because he was convinced he should have had a penalty for a trip. No penalty was awarded much to the anger of the striker.
Nine minutes into the second half, Ximo Navarro’s foul on Koki Saito resulted in a penalty for Sparta and Vito van Crooij made it 2-1.
Gözübüyük then angered the visitors even more by rejecting two penalty claims from them and Yilmaz was eventually booked for his protests. He will now be suspended for next weekend. In the 84th minute, Sparta sealed their victory as Verschueren netted his second.
The win means Sparta are now sixth while Fortuna Sittard is in 12th.