Anthony Correia may be on his way to FC Utrecht next season, but that certainly hasn’t distracted him from his current goal of keeping Telstar in the Eredivisie. The head coach, who masterminded the sides unlikely promotion via the play-offs last season, has put the relegation favourites in control of their destiny. The side faced off against Sparta Rotterdam yesterday evening and blew the side away, giving their chances of survival a huge boost.
Going into the clash with Sparta Rotterdam, Telstar were occupying the relegation play-off spot. Their form was also starting to slip, with just one win in their last four games. However, they turned on the style against Sparta Rotterdam during the second half. Former Telstar winger Milan Zonneveld had given the away side the lead, only for Jeff Hardeveld to equalise minutes later. With 70 minutes on the clock, Sem van Duijn then sprung into action.
The 22-year-old striker, on loan from AZ Alkmaar, scored a quickfire brace, his first two goals of the season having only joined Telstar in January. Correia then introduced Jelani Seedorf late on, replacing van Duijn. It took Seedorf just a minute to have an impact, grabbing a fourth for Telstar and confirming the three points for the side.
Victory for Telstar now see’s them leapfrog Volendam and Excelsior into 14th. They have a two points gap to the two sides, although they have also now played one game more. More importantly, the side now have a five point lead over NAC Breda. With Heracles certain to be relegated, NAC Breda occupy the final automatic relegation spot that is possible to change hands in the coming weeks.
While Telstar fans may be wondering how they are going to replace Correia next season, for now they can at least enjoy the prospect that he and his side could give them one more year of Eredivisie football.
For Sparta Rotterdam, they will also be welcoming a new head coach next season, with Paul Simonis the current favourite to take over from Maurice Steijn.
GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson
