Match Report
10 points and 9 places separated them: SC Heerenveen 10th with 9, AZ Alkmaar 1st with 19. Against a league average of 1.9 goals per team per game, SC Heerenveen ran at 1.57 scored and 1.29 conceded, AZ Alkmaar at 2.57 and 0.86.
AZ Alkmaar had won seven straight, having scored in 13 consecutive games. The five-game form split read 8/15 points for SC Heerenveen against 15/15 for AZ Alkmaar.
39 previous meetings sit in the GioScore records — SC Heerenveen 12, draws 6, AZ Alkmaar 21, at 3.87 goals per meeting. Three-plus goals is the norm here, arriving in 77% of the meetings, and both sides scored in 67%. Goals have risen lately: 5.2 per game across the last five meetings, against 3.87 across the full history.
The venue was Abe Lenstra Stadion, with room for 27,224 spectators. J. Manschot officiated: 100 games logged, averaging 1.6 yellow cards each. Half-time and full-time told different stories: SC Heerenveen led 2-1 at the break, before 2 more goals closed it at 2-3.
Goal scorers
SC Heerenveen: Nolhan Courtens (21'), Ringo Meerveld (30') · AZ Alkmaar: Ro-Zangelo Daal (7'), Mexx Meerdink (69'), Ayoub Oufkir (83')
Key stats
Possession: SC Heerenveen 45% · AZ Alkmaar 55% · Total shots: 14-15 · On target: 5-8 · Corners: 4-3