Greg . 2 days ago

Eredivisie roundup: NEC continue perfect start, Groningen win dramatic Derby of the North

On the second Saturday of the 2025/26 Eredivisie season, NEC continued their fantastic start to the new campaign and the Derby of the North was a spectacle on and off the pitch.

Heracles Almelo - NEC Nijmegen: 1-4A week after their hefty defeat away at FC Utrecht, Heracles Almelo suffered a second-straight beating as NEC left Almelo with a 4-1 win in their pockets.

NEC, who beat Excelsior 5-0 last week, fell behind early when Jizz Hornkamp put the home side up after three minutes.

However, Hornkamp was forced to leave the pitch after 13 minutes after referee Alex Bos showed the striker a red card following a hard tackle on Sami Ouaissa on Heracles' half.

The tide soon turned as NEC took control of the match quickly.

Bryan Linssen saw a goal get ruled out for offside, but the visitors still went into half-time without a deficit after Linssen hit home following a short cross from Philippe Sandler.

It took NEC twenty minutes to expand their lead in the second half thanks to Sandler, who headed the ball in after 68 minutes.

Substitute Kento Shiogai, who replaced Koki Oagawa after 69 minutes, livened up his cameo with two goals as NEC took home a second much-deserved win in a row.

FC Groningen - sc Heerenveen: 1-2The first Derby of the North of the season saw both Groningen and Heerenveen take home a point after a match that was headlined by fireworks, thrown objects, and goalkeeping mistakes.

The match was delayed for roughly 15 minutes after a pyro show from the home supporters filled the Euroborg with green smoke, forcing referee Jochem Kamphuis to send the players back inside as the game was about to kick off.

Danish Heerenveen winger Jacob Trenskow opened the scoring for Heerenveen after a swift attack from the Frisian side.

The home fans caused another delay, however, as cups of beer were thrown onto the pitch, forcing Kamphuis to send the players inside for a second time.

Fourteen in-game minutes after Trenskow's opener, FC Groningen got alongside Heerenveen via Brynjolfur Willumsson, who profited from a grave mistake from former World Cup goalkeeper Andries Noppert, who let Willumsson's long-distance effort slip through his hands.

As Groningen tried to power through Heerenveen's defence, Younes Taha, Marco Rente, and David van der Werff got close but not close enough in a cagey second half.

 But as the game eked towards a draw, Brynjolfur Willumsson became the hero of Groningen with his second goal of the match.

Marvin Peersman launched a perfect deep ball to Thom van Bergen, who headed the ball to Willumsson and saw his Icelandic teammate calmly put the ball behind Noppert in the 94th minute.

Hidde Jurjus pulled off one more critical save in the dying seconds as FC Groningen won their second Derby of the North in a row.

Excelsior - Feyenoord: 1-2Feyenoord also continued their winning ways with a 2-1 win over Excelsior in a rather disappointing outing.

To read all about their win, check out our match report here.