FC Utrecht have won their third three-pointer of the new season. Utrecht were lord and master over Roda JC Kerkrade in the Galgenewaard, beating them 2-0.

Samba football in the Galgenwaard, on an ordinary Sunday afternoon in September? It’s true, FC Utrecht are the living proof. Not once, but 90 minutes long. Swift passes, frivolous play, pure enjoyment for all football lovers in Utrecht.

Superior
Well, for nearly all football lovers. Out of the crowd of 19,042, 147 had no reason to smile. They were the travelling Roda JC Kerkrade fans. From the away section, they saw their team being shown every blade of the Utrecht pitch. The Limburgers didn’t have a single shot on goal and didn’t win a single corner.

77 seconds
Utrecht were  in control from the start. They took the lead after just 77 seconds. Zakaria Labyad’s goal a couple of weeks ago (107 seconds) had been the fastest in the Eredivisie this season, but Sander van de Streek showed he could do it even quicker. The midfielder got on the end of a flowing, lightning-fast attack and left goalie Hidde Jurjus standing. The crowd sprang to their feet to cheer the 1-0 on the scoreboard.

One criticism
Ninety minutes later, there was only one criticism of trainer/coach Erik ten Hag’s team: they didn’t score more than 2-0. Zakaria Labyad had got the second just after an hour thanks to good preparatory work by Cyriel Dessers. Plenty of chances followed, but Utrecht didn’t make the most of them.

Nine out of four
With nine points from the first four games of the season, Utrecht can now look forward to the next challenge: FC Twente away. The match against the Tukkers kicks off at 14.30 on Sunday 17 September in the Grolsch Veste. 

FC Utrecht - Roda JC Kerkrade 2-0 (1-0)
2. Sander van de Streek 1-0
58. Zakaria Labyad 2-0

Attendance: 19,042.

Referee: Siemen Mulder.

FC Utrecht line-up:
David Jensen; Sean Klaiber, Mark van der Maarel, Willem Janssen, Edson Braafheid; Urby Emanuelson (74. Rico Strieder), Sander van de Streek, Yassin Ayoub, Zakaria Labyad; Gyrano Kerk (85. Lukas Görtler), Cyriel Dessers (68. Jean-Christophe Bahebeck).

Roda JC Kerkrade line-up:
Hidde Jurjus; Ashton Götz, Frederic Ananou, Daryl Werker, Ard van Peppen (54. Jannes Vansteenkiste); Ognjen Gnjatic (14. Mario Engels), Mohamed El Makrini, Tsiy Ndenge; Mikhail Rosheuvel, Simon Gustafson, Mitchel Paulissen (78. Gyliano van Velzen).