The first leg of the Eredivisie European play-off final took place on Thursday with Utrecht earning a 1-1 draw at Heracles.
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The visitors created the first real opening in Almelo with Sebastien Haller hitting the woodwork but it was Heracles who led at the break. On 40 minutes Thomas Bruns beat Filip Bednarek after a fine pass by Brahim Darri and good work from Jaroslav Navratil.
Six minutes into the second half Utrecht leveled as Rico Strieder capitalised on poor defending before lashing the ball past Bram Castro.
Heracles pushed for a late winner but failed to truly test Bednerak and Utrecht held on to take a slight advantage back home. The second leg takes place on Sunday.