AZ Stuns with Dramatic Injury-Time Turnaround to Secure Conference League Spot

AZ, finishing fifth in the Eredivisie’s regular season, secured their place in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Europa Conference League by defeating FC Twente 3-2 in the conclusion of the Dutch playoffs.

Playing at home, AZ faced sixth-placed FC Twente, who had advanced past sc Heerenveen with a comfortable 4-1 victory in Thursday’s semi-final. In contrast, Twente had a more dramatic path, needing extra time to see off NEC Nijmegen despite being reduced to ten men in the first half.

As both teams started tentatively, FC Twente’s Portuguese defender Alexandre Penetra gave away a contentious penalty, which was converted by Sem Steijn, the league’s leading scorer, in the 20th minute.

Steijn, potentially playing his final match for Twente before an anticipated transfer to Feyenoord, extended the lead to 2-0 just before half-time. After Daan Rots set up Michel Vlap, who then assisted Steijn to slot the ball into an empty net.

AZ, however, struck back just before the break when Mexx Meerdink, the hero of the previous match with a hat-trick, netted from close range. FC Twente’s worries intensified when Ricky van Wolfswinkel’s reckless interaction set off alarms, but referee Serdar Gozubuyuk upheld his original decision, issuing only a yellow card despite VAR’s intervention.

In the second half, AZ’s new centre-back Maxim Dekker, who had replaced the injured Penetra, sent a beautiful ball into the path of Meerdink, but the young striker failed to capitalise on a one-on-one opportunity against keeper Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro.

Ruben van Bommel, the son of renowned midfielder Mark van Bommel, turned the match on its head in the 52nd minute with a powerful long-range shot that caught the 38-year-old goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton by surprise, bringing the score to 2-2.

Comeback Complete

As the match approached the last twenty minutes, a remarkable reflex save by Owusu-Oduro and a goal-line clearance by Dekker kept AZ from trailing again after Vlap’s close-range attempt.

In dramatic fashion, AZ completed their comeback in the 94th minute when Troy Parrott’s shot was parried away by Tyton, only for Ibrahim Sadiq to react quickly and tap in the rebound amidst a jubilant home crowd.

Youth international Owusu-Oduro again came to AZ’s rescue, making a fantastic save off a shot from Arno Verschueren, officially securing AZ’s advancement to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League. This achievement marks their eighth consecutive season competing in Europe.

On the other hand, FC Twente, who faced a surprising exit at the hands of Bodo/Glimt in this UEFA Europa League season, miss out on European competition for the first time since 2022.