Go Ahead Eagles Left to Rue Late Miss Against Groningen

Go Ahead Eagles left to rue late miss as Groningen escape De Adelaarshorst with a point

The floodlights were still buzzing, the home crowd still roaring, when the chance came. Stefan Ingi Sigurdarson, alone, staring at an open goal, the winner at his feet. And then the ball rolled wide.

Go Ahead Eagles 1, FC Groningen 1. It felt like a scoreline that told only half the story.

Groningen strike against the run of play

From the start at De Adelaarshorst, Go Ahead Eagles played on the front foot. They pressed high, pinned Groningen back, and set the tempo. The visitors, though, landed the first punch.

Brynjólfur Willumsson picked up the ball on the edge of the box and did not hesitate. One clean strike, laced with power, sent it flying past Kjetil Haug and into the net for 0-1. Against the run of play? Absolutely. Spectacular? No doubt.

The goal changed the mood, not the pattern. Groningen retreated, lines dropping deeper, content to defend their lead. Go Ahead pushed harder.

Søren Tengstedt, as so often this season, carried the greatest threat. He almost levelled with a clever, looping lob that seemed destined to drop in. Etienne Vaessen read it brilliantly, backpedalling and clawing the ball away to keep Groningen in front.

Pressure builds, Tengstedt delivers

After the interval, Joseph Oosting’s side came out with renewed intent. The pressure didn’t just rise; it suffocated Groningen for long spells.

Chances followed. Thibo Baeten went close. Sigurdarson had a sight of goal. The home fans sensed the equaliser coming, yet Groningen held firm, defending in numbers, clearing their lines, hanging on.

The resistance finally cracked in the 82nd minute.

A sharp move sliced through the middle of the Groningen defence, and this time Tengstedt made it count. The striker met the ball and hammered it past Vaessen for 1-1, a finish full of conviction and frustration rolled into one.

It was Tengstedt’s fifth goal of the season, enough to make him the current top scorer in the Eredivisie. His celebration said it all: urgency, not relief. Go Ahead wanted more.

Agony at the end

The equaliser did not calm the game. It ignited it.

Go Ahead surged forward, chasing all three points as if a draw simply did not exist as an option. Groningen, tiring and stretched, could only hang on and hope.

Then came the moment that will haunt the home side.

A low ball, a scramble, and suddenly Sigurdarson was there with the goal gaping. The stadium held its breath. He slid in… and somehow pushed the ball wide of the post. The disbelief in the stands matched the look on his face.

That was 2-1, gone.

When the final whistle blew, both teams had a point. Only one side looked satisfied. Groningen had emptied the tank and survived. Go Ahead Eagles walked off with a sour taste, knowing they had done enough to win — and still let the victory slip through their fingers.