NEC Nijmegen claimed back-to-back UEFA Europa League wins as a superb second-half rally claimed a 3-1 home victory over Omonia.
The visitors showed no nerves in the opening stages with Jaden Montnor superbly denied an opener inside the first 60 seconds. As the hosts cheaply lost possession inside Omonia’s half, Lois Diony powered clear to tee up Montnor from close range – but Gonzalo Crettaz’s razor-sharp reactions blocked his header.
That early chance emboldened Henning Berg’s team, but they had to wait until the 23rd minute to finally edge in front as Diony crisply fired Panagiotis Andreou’s chip past the stricken Crettaz from 10 yards out.
Diony’s intervention did trigger a reaction from Dick Schreuder’s charges, and Ayodele Thomas was inches away from a quickfire equaliser after his bulleted effort from a tight angle cannoned back off Thomas Kaminski’s crossbar.
That burst of pressure from NEC was rewarded instantly after the restart as Bryan Linssen shrugged off his marker to nod home Tjaronn Chery’s near post corner on 50 minutes. With scores tied heading into the final half hour, both sides pushed forward in pursuit of a late winner, but clear-cut openings were few and far between. However, just as the clash looked to be drifting towards a draw, Nijmegen seized their chance to snatch all three points with two goals inside two minutes.
Substitute Dusan Tadic’s drive from the edge of Omonia’s box was pawed away by Kaminski, but Clement Bischoff stayed alive to thump home the rebound. That shattered Omonia’s hopes of claiming a point, and Linssen showed his ruthlessness again to fire home Tadic’s throughball for a fourth European goal for the veteran hitman.
Victory for Nijmegen hauls the Dutch side up to 11th in the overall Europa League rankings, with seven points secured from their last three games after being hammered 5-0 at Juventus in their opener. Meanwhile, Omonia’s second consecutive continental loss means they slip to 17th spot, and the Cyprians remain on four points.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Bryan Linssen (NEC Nijmegen)
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