By Jan-Kees Joosse (22/9/25)
Above: Feyenoord v Ajax. Photo: VrEredivisie on X.
In the second round of the Eredivisie Matches, the difference between the title contenders and relegation potentials is beginning to become clear. In his weekly round-up for Impetus Football, Jan-Keese Joosse looks back at an entertaining weekend of Dutch women’s football.
AZ’s Fieke Kroese steamrolls Excelsior in five minutes
Excelsior Rotterdam 1 – 3 AZ
Excelsior briefly seemed on their way to causing an upset but ultimately lost 3-1 to AZ. The Rotterdam side took an early lead through former PSV player Janneke Verheijsen, scoring Excelsior’s first goal of the season.
The plan to park the bus worked less effectively than it had against PSV, since this time Excelsior also pushed forward more often. AZ sensed opportunities and found their key player in striker Fieke Kroese, who turned out to be in surprisingly excellent form. Within five minutes, she overturned the deficit with two goals, putting the Alkmaar side ahead.
The second half remained tense as AZ failed to secure a safe margin. Only in stoppage time did Ellouzi, playing against her former club, seal the victory with the 3-1.
With this win, AZ claimed their first three points of the season. The team looks strong enough to stay clear of the relegation zone but will need to show more quality if they want to compete for a top-five spot and pick up points against the top clubs PSV, Ajax, and FC Twente.
For Excelsior, it promises to be a difficult season: the side still lacks clear ideas on how to turn possession and defense into attacking play. Simply defending for a draw is proving to be a risky strategy in Dutch football.
Ajax’s struggle against Feyenoord highlights dangers of squad turnover
Feyenoord Rotterdam 0 – 1 Ajax
In the Eredivisie Women, Ajax scraped together three points on Sunday in the so-called “Klassieker” against Feyenoord: 1-0. While the marketing promotes the fixture as the great rivalry of women’s football, competitively it remains a one-sided affair. Feyenoord have never finished higher than the top five, while Ajax have been among the elite for years. Still, this edition provided tension right up until the final whistle.
Ajax opened the scoring early. In the fourth minute, Danique Tolhoek fired a powerful shot on goal, and 19-year-old breakthrough star Mirte van Koppen reacted quickly to slot in the rebound. It was her third goal of the season, once again proving the value of Ajax’s youth academy.
After that, Feyenoord defended surprisingly well and left a much stronger impression than in their earlier defeat against NAC. Celainy Obispo, Jade van Hensbergen, and Danique Tolhoek all picked up yellow cards, underlining the high tempo and intensity of the match.
In stoppage time, Feyenoord unexpectedly had the chance to equalize when they were awarded a penalty. Lont, however, sent her effort wide of the target – to Ajax’s relief.
Ajax can breathe a sigh of relief after securing three points, while Feyenoord, despite the loss, can take confidence from their strong defensive display and the narrow margin against one of the title contenders. Ajax are still looking for stability after a plethora of players leaving their squad. It’s kind of crazy that the 21-year old Danique Noordman and 19-year old Danique Tolhoek are the leading forces in the team next to Europe’s most internationally-capped player Sherida Spitse. Still their performances are quite impressive, so they don’t have to worry yet.
PSV struggle again at FC Utrecht, but force a controversial win
FC Utrecht 1 – 2 PSV
In the Eredivisie Women, PSV battled to a hard-fought 2-1 win over FC Utrecht on Sunday. The Eindhoven side started brightly, showing plenty of creativity in the opening stages, largely thanks to Chimera Ripa, who repeatedly put pressure on the Utrecht defense.
PSV pinned Utrecht deep in their own half, but the home side could count on an excellent performance from goalkeeper Femke Bastien, who kept her team in the game with several saves. Offensively, Utrecht struggled: the departure of Nurija van Schoonhoven to Ajax was clearly felt.
Where Utrecht had once been known for bold, attacking play, this time they fielded mainly physical battlers. Even so, the home team surprisingly took the lead when Gera Op den Kelder headed in with ease after defender Nina Nijstad was completely caught off guard.
After the break, PSV hit back. A stroke of bad luck for Utrecht occurred when Boremans went down head-injured during an attack, creating confusion in the defense, because the referee was supposed to blow the whistle. GoalKeeper Bastien briefly lost concentration, and Xhemaili capitalized, finishing off a pass from Renate Jansen to level the score. Shortly afterward it went downhill for Utrecht, Lena Mahieu was forced to bring down a breaking Ripa, earning herself a red card and leaving Utrecht further weakened.
With the extra player, PSV piled on the pressure. Once again, Xhemaili Ripa struck—this time with a header for her second goal of the afternoon, almost unchallenged by Utrecht’s depleted defense.
PSV saw out the victory but will be concerned about their unconvincing display—especially after their earlier struggles against Excelsior. If they truly want to compete for the title this season, the playing style will have to rise. FC Utrecht, meanwhile, will need to inject more freshness and attacking spark if they want to make good on their ambitions for European football, but so far they and Feyenoord seem like the teams to make life difficult for the regular top three teams.
PEC show HERA that organisation makes the difference
HERA United 2 – 3 PEC Zwolle
PEC Zwolle kicked off the new Eredivisie season in style with a 3-1 victory over Hera. While PEC looked organized and solid, Hera’s defense left much to be desired, perhaps unsurprising given the many changes in their squad, but still disappointing for an opening match.
Early in the game, Ilvy Sijp put PEC ahead with a sharp finish. Hera quickly hit back through Vis, who completed a swift counterattack to level the score. PEC, however, stayed composed: Judith Roosjen capitalized on a defensive error to restore the lead, before Hannah Huizinga extended the margin. On that goal, Hera’s defense looked shaky, and coordination with the goalkeeper appeared lacking.
Despite their defensive struggles, Hera produced a surprising moment of brilliance. Kira stunned everyone with a strike from around forty meters, beating the PEC goalkeeper who was caught too far off her line. It was a spectacular goal that briefly gave Hera hope, but they couldn’t sustain that level.
After the break, the pace dropped and no further goals were scored. PEC Zwolle controlled the game and professionally saw out the win. With these three points, PEC have shown they can be a serious mid-table contender this season, capable of challenging teams like ADO, Heerenveen, and perhaps even AZ. Hera, meanwhile, will need to improve defensively if they want to present themselves as a more attractive and stable side for supporters and sponsoring.
NAC Breda’s Naïvity and Ravensbergen’s brilliance seals win for the Tukkers
NAC Breda 0 – 6 FC Twente
FC Twente cruised to a comfortable 6-0 victory over NAC in Breda. The home side paid a heavy price for naïve defending, giving the reigning champions all the space they needed to strike.
Early in the match, Twente’s smallest player, Lynn Groenewegen, was left completely unmarked to head in the opener. Not long after, more poor defending led to the second goal: captain Danique van Ginkel found herself so free that she could score with ease.
After the break, things got even more painful for NAC. Rising talent Rose Ivens netted what was perhaps the easiest goal of her career when a corner from Jill Roord dropped right at her feet. Moments later, the NAC defense put the ball into their own net, further shattering their confidence.
Twente had no trouble pressing on. Last season’s league top scorer Jaimy Ravensbergen (profiled here) intercepted a shot from the eager goalgetting Jill Roord and made it 5-0, sparking a teasing laughter from Ravensbergen to Roord. Eva Oude Elberink came on as a substitute and eventually sealed the final score at 6-0.
For Twente, this emphatic win is important in terms of goal difference, which proved decisive in last season’s title race. NAC, on the other hand, will need to regroup quickly if they want to survive in the Eredivisie, as they offered the champions no resistance in this match.
ADO Den Haag take steps forward, Heerenveen work to keep them at bay
ADO Den Haag 2 – 2 SC Heerenveen
In the Eredivisie Women, the match between ADO Den Haag and Heerenveen ended in a deserved 2-2 draw. Both teams proved evenly matched and showed they have enough quality to stay clear of the relegation zone without too much trouble.
ADO Den Haag took the lead in the first half through a strong run in behind from Ziva Henry. Attack-minded Heerenveen, however, stayed composed and equalized through Fenna Meijer. With the score at 1-1, the teams went into halftime – a fair reflection of the game.
The balance continued in the second half. Around the hour mark, Senna Koeleman put ADO back in front, but ten minutes later Aymee Altena leveled things once again.
Both sides displayed Eredivisie-level experience and the ability to grind out points, which will serve them well in the battle to avoid the lower end of the table. For ADO, the attacking play that was missing against Ajax will be an encouraging sign. Heerenveen, meanwhile, will need to tighten their defense if they want to start turning draws into wins.
Follow Jan for all the news about Dutch Women’s Football on www.fcleeuwinnen.nl. Read news about the star players, get strong point of views from our columnists and discover all about upcoming Dutch talents.
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