The first Gelderse derby in four years ended in a narrow 1-0 victory for Vitesse Arnhem over NEC Nijmegen.

NEC were facing their fierce rival for the first time since 2017 and the home crowd were out in force to cheer on their side. However, it was Vitesse who struck first with a goal that enraged the NEC players and crowed.

Oussama Darfalou went through and seemed to hit the ball with his arm before taking the ball out of play. He then squared for Nikolai Baden Frederiksen to net. The hosts protested but VAR referee Allard Lindhout approved the goal after ruling the handball was not intentional and that the ball had not fully gone out of play.

The goal created a hostile atmosphere in the crowd and the game had to be stopped for a moment as Vitesse defender Maximilian Wittek was met with a rain of cups and beer as he looked to take a corner.

Vitesse could have killed the game with chances wasted by Wittek, Ali Dasa and Darfalou, and that set up an exciting end phase. NEC pushed for the equaliser but Vitesse frantically held on for the victory.

Vitesse are 6th after the victory, while NEC is now 11th.




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