De Graafschap failed to take a step towards the Eredivisie after they were held to a 0-0 by Volendam in the first leg of their play-off.
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The home side dominated from the start and nearly took the lead in spectacular style on 14 minutes when Jerry van Ewijk spotted the goalkeeper off his line, but his lob ended up on the top of the net. Five minutes later Tim Janssen headed wide for De Graafschap, and before the break Volendam goalkeeper Theo Zwarthoed had to make several key interventions to prevent his side from going behind.
De Graafschap continued to push forward after the break, but Zwarthoed kept a Volendam side happy with a draw in the tie, firstly tipping a Edwin Linssen shot wide before denying Vlatko Lazic. Volendam were reduced to ten men with five minutes left when Ludcinio Marengo was shown his second yellow card, but De Graafschap couldn’t make the extra man count before the end.
The two sides will meet again at 11.30am on Sunday with the winner of the tie heading up to the Eredivisie.
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