Heerenveen – The first round of the KNVB Cup began this week and SC Heerenveen hosted Eerste divisie side De Graafschap on 20 September.
Iranian striker Reza Ghoochannejhad was in the starting lineup and had the chance to give the Frisian side the lead but missed a penalty kick in the 17th minute.
The match remained scoreless until the second half when winger Elvio van Overbeek put De Graafschap in the lead seven minutes after the hour mark.
Minutes ticked off the clock and it looked as if the underdogs were going to pull off the upset but second half substitute Henk Veerman tied up the score in the 86th minute.
The match went into extra time and clearly it was the Frisian side that carried all the momentum.
Three minutes into extra time it was Veerman who struck again to give Heerenveen a 2-1 lead. Two minutes later Kosovar midfielder Arber Zeneli scored to increase the lead to 3-1. By now it was evident that De Graafschap had run out of gas.
Seven minutes later it was 4-1 after a goal scored by Danish midfielder Younes Namli.
In stoppage time of the first half of extra time, captain Stijn Schaars put on the finishing touches with a goal to give Heerenveen a 5-1 lead.
This match definitely had its surprises considering that Heerenveen nearly lost at home but Veerman was surely the man of the match as he forced extra time with his equalizer and set the tone in extra time in what ended up being the game winning goal.
Ghoochannejhad was subbed out in the 70th minute for Henk Veerman and the Iranian striker was probably relieved that his teammate might have helped him forget about the missed penalty kick in the first half.
A 5-1 win is definitely an ideal start to the KNVB Cup for Heerenveen but next they must re-focus their attention on an Eredivisie matchup at ADO Den Haag on 24 September.