Linssen double helps N.E.C. to 4-2 win at Dinamo Zagreb
N.E.C. came from behind to beat Dinamo Zagreb 4-2 at the Stadion Maksimir in the Europa League, with Bryan Linssen scoring twice.
By Harvey Watkins,
N.E.C. won 4-2 at the Stadion Maksimir on Thursday, recovering from a Dion Beljo double to beat Dinamo Zagreb on Matchday 3 of the Europa League. Bryan Linssen scored either side of half-time to turn the match, and Tjaronn Chery settled it ten minutes from the end.
It was a game of two distinct phases. Five of the six goals came in a 29-minute spell between the 25th and 54th minutes, during which the lead changed hands twice. After that the scoring slowed, and the only further goal went to the visitors.
How the first half unfolded
Clement Bischoff gave N.E.C. the lead in the 25th minute. It lasted eight minutes. Beljo equalised in the 33rd minute and scored again four minutes later, so in the space of a little over ten minutes Dinamo Zagreb had gone from a goal down to a goal up.
That 2-1 advantage was the only time the home side led, and it did not reach the interval. Linssen levelled in the 45th minute, which meant the teams went in at 2-2 rather than with Dinamo Zagreb in front. In a match this open, the timing of that equaliser looks like the moment the balance shifted, though a single goal at the end of a half is easy to over-read.
N.E.C. take control after the break
Linssen struck again nine minutes into the second half, putting N.E.C. 3-2 ahead in the 54th minute. From there the scoring went quiet for 26 minutes, and Dinamo Zagreb could not find the equaliser that would have reopened it.
Chery's goal in the 80th minute made it 4-2 and gave N.E.C. a two-goal margin for the first time in the evening. The second half finished 2-0 to the visitors.
The goals
- 25' Clement Bischoff (N.E.C.) 0-1
- 33' Dion Beljo (Dinamo Zagreb) 1-1
- 37' Dion Beljo (Dinamo Zagreb) 2-1
- 45' Bryan Linssen (N.E.C.) 2-2
- 54' Bryan Linssen (N.E.C.) 2-3
- 80' Tjaronn Chery (N.E.C.) 2-4
What the scoreline says
The headline figure is the four goals N.E.C. scored away from home, spread across three different players. Linssen's two came at the points where the match was most finely poised: one to draw level, one to go ahead. Bischoff opened the scoring and Chery closed it, so the visitors scored at the start of the goal sequence, at its turning point and at its end.
For Dinamo Zagreb, Beljo accounted for both goals, and both came within four minutes of each other. Beyond that brief spell, the home side did not score, and conceding four at home is the part of the night that will stand out.
It is worth being careful about how much one result can carry. This was a single match, and a six-goal game with this many swings can turn on a handful of moments. What can be said plainly is that N.E.C. scored three times without reply after falling behind, and that Dinamo Zagreb's lead lasted just eight minutes.