Tjaronn Chery’s 85th-minute equaliser rescued a 1-1 draw for NEC Nijmegen against Telstar at Stadion de Goffert on Saturday evening, cancelling out Sem van Duijn’s 32nd-minute opener and leaving both sides where they started the day in the table.
Van Duijn had given Telstar the lead after a pass from Cedric Hatenboer, and the visitors clung to that advantage until Chery finally broke through late. A potential winner for NEC was ruled out by VAR in the 89th minute when Youssef El Kachati’s finish was judged offside.
The match was a statistical stranglehold for NEC: 69.6% possession, 534 completed passes at 85.8% accuracy and 21 attempts to Telstar’s 10. NEC registered seven shots on target, struck the woodwork twice and still left De Goffert with only a draw. Telstar, while limited to 30.4% possession and no corners, managed 52 clearances and defended strongly enough to maintain their 16th-place position.
For nec nijmegen the numbers did not translate into three points. NEC finished with 21 attempts and seven on target but failed to turn dominance into victory; Telstar’s resilience — and that VAR intervention — ensured a share of the spoils. After the result NEC remained third in the Eredivisie, while Telstar stayed 16th.
The draw arrived against a backdrop laid out in the pre-match notes: NEC have been in strong form across the 2025-26 season but have dropped points in recent league matches and were thrashed 5-1 by AZ Alkmaar in the KNVB Beker final. Telstar, back in the Eredivisie after nearly 50 years away, have been fighting to avoid the relegation/promotion play-offs; before the match they had only seven league victories this season and were five points clear of Breda, with Volendam just one point ahead in 15th and still in reach.
Team news shaped the game. Freek Entius and Basar Onal remained sidelined for NEC with knee injuries, while Ahmetcan Kaplan returned to contention after serving a one-game suspension. Telstar were missing Adil Lechkar, who has not played in their last nine matches because of a knee injury, and Dion Malone has been out since the March international break.
The match also continued a frustrating run between the clubs; NEC had been winless in their last three meetings with Telstar before Saturday, including a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture in December. That history made the stalemate feel less like a slip and more like a stubborn pattern: NEC control games without finishing them off, and Telstar survive by defending in numbers and timing their moments.
Tension in the game sat squarely between NEC’s control and Telstar’s resistance. NEC completed 534 passes at high accuracy and hit the crossbar twice, yet an offside chalked-off effort and a single goal conceded in the first half meant they left with a point. Telstar managed just 10 attempts but turned one chance into a lead and relied on 52 clearances to frustrate their hosts.
The immediate ramifications are practical. NEC stay third and will travel to Groningen next, a trip that now reads as a test of whether they can turn territorial dominance into the consistent goal output needed for a top-three finish. Telstar will host Heracles next and remain in the fight to avoid the play-offs; their defensive compactness has kept them five points clear of Breda for the moment but the margin is narrow.
NEC’s possession-heavy approach produced control but not clearance of doubts. If the season’s ambition is a first-ever top-three finish, the late equaliser and the VAR intervention underlined a simple conclusion: NEC must sharpen their finishing before they reach Groningen, or a title chase could become a pattern of near-misses. For Telstar, the draw is another point earned by endurance — and another reminder that survival can be secured one stubborn performance at a time.
For readers tracking the broader league picture, teams like Twente must harness momentum as NEC visit De Grolsch Veste next weekend — see — while NEC head north to Groningen looking to convert possession into points.
