villarreal numbed by nelisse published: friday 8 april 2005, 0.33cet
villarreal cf 1-2 az alkmaar robin nelisse's late strike gives alkmaar an invaluable away triumph in spain.
a late strike from robin nelisse gave az alkmaar a crucial away first-leg victory in their uefa cup quarter-final tie against villarreal cf, the spanish side's first-ever home uefa cup defeat in their 12th match at el madrigal.
rare attack after absorbing pressure for much of the second half, the striker gave the visitors a 2-1 lead in the 74th minute following a rare foray into the villarreal half. nelisse pushed jan kromkamp's near-post cross goalwards and although josé manuel reina saved the initial effort, he could do nothing about the rebound. the goal restored alkmaar's lead after they had opened the scoring through denny landzaat on eleven minutes although juan román riquelme soon equalised.
defensive reshuffle both coaches were forced to make defensive changes, with villarreal's manuel luis pellegrini bringing césar arzo into central defence while kew jaliens lined up in the alkmaar rearguard and michael buskermolen replaced tim de cler in midfield.
lucho impact but it was luciano figueroa, playing instead of the cup-tied diego forlán, who made the biggest impact in the opening stages for the sole surviving uefa intertoto cup winners. he could have broken the deadlock after less than four minutes but, five metres out, directed rodolfo arruabarrena's cross wide.
landzaat strike villarreal had begun brightly but were soon a goal behind when landzaat struck from the edge of the box after nelisse's lay-off for the first uefa cup goal villarreal had ever conceded at home. the advantage lasted less than two minutes, however, before riquelme scored an almost carbon-copy goal after a swift one-two with lucho.
timmer saves alkmaar goalkeeper henk timmer was left flat-footed by the strike but was significantly more agile to keep out riquelme's penalty on 27 minutes, saving at full stretch after kromkamp had impeded lucho. but it was a solitary blemish on an otherwise excellent first half by the penalty-taker, who posed a constant problem to the alkmaar defence, teeing up a series of chances for his colleagues. marcos senna and josé mari almost profited.
flurry of chances the second half started with a flurry of chances as lucho and nelisse both went close before riquelme blazed a gilt-edged opportunity over the bar after another one-two with lucho. the miss typified the second half as villarreal were constantly rebuffed by last-ditch defending and poor finishing.
alkmaar ahead alkmaar offered little in return before nelisse's late strike gave them a crucial advantage - not least as they have never lost a home european game.
yardımcı hakemler: egon bereuter (aut), walter staudinger (aut)
4. hakem: thomas einwaller (aut)
villarreal: pepe reina (gk), gonzalo rodríguez, rodolfo arruabarrena(c), josico (dk. 73 héctor font), juan riquelme, juan pablo sorín (dk. 60 santi cazorla), luciano figueroa, marcos senna, josé marí (dk. 79 antonio guayre), armando sá, césar arzo
yedekler: javier vallejo (gk), javier calleja, carlos alcántara, edu
teknik direktör: manuel pellegrini (chi)
az: henk timmer (gk), jan kromkamp, kew jaliens, barry opdam, denny landzaat (c), olaf lindenbergh, tarik sektioui, michael buskermolen (dk. 63 tim de cler), robin nelisse (dk. 83 stein huysegems), barry van galen (dk. 79 adil ramzi), kenneth perez
yedekler: theo zwarthoed (gk), ron vlaar, haris medunjanin, ali elkhattabi
teknik direktör: co adriaanse (ned)
goller: (0-1) denny landzaat (c) dk. 11 (1-1) juan riquelme dk. 13 (1-2) robin nelisse dk. 74
sari kartlar: dk. 45+1 josico, dk. 49 armando sá (villarreal) dk. 27 jan kromkamp, dk. 51 olaf lindenbergh (az)
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