Telstar still has a chance of playing in the Eredivisie after a draw against Willem II: 'I don't know what's happening to me'

Rúnar Sigurgeirsson could crawl under the grass in misery. The Willem II defender is hopelessly in the way when his keeper Thomas Didillon poorly processes a cross. The ball plops into his own goal via the Icelander. Ten minutes after the break, the score is 1-1 and Telstar is alive again. And that while the Tilburgers seemed to have the match completely under control in the first half, after they had taken a 0-1 lead.

The question beforehand was for which team the nerves would weigh the heaviest. SC Telstar, one of the smallest clubs in the first division, can be promoted for the first time in almost half a century. The seventh place and participation in the play-offs were an achievement in themselves. ADO Den Haag and FC Den Bosch were convincingly eliminated, which means that the Eredivisie now beckons. A banner in the stands with the text 'what a season!' shows that things can't go wrong in Velsen-Zuid anymore.

Willem II has a lot to lose. The club from Tilburg had a perfectly reasonable first half of the season, but experienced a disastrous resumption of the competition. On Saturday, Willem II narrowly managed to win against FC Dordrecht – it was the first victory of the calendar year 2025. The 'field storming' of supporters that followed was received with some derision outside Tilburg. After all, there was still a hurdle to be taken: a two-legged match against Telstar.

Safety

Before the match, there is a lot of talk about the high-profile security measures. There is a lot of police presence and security guards in yellow vests can be seen in many places around the stadium. “Can someone explain to me the added value of the fences at the second entrance?” is the message from the walkie-talkie of one of the many security guards outside the stadium. It is all new to the club from Velsen-Zuid; just a foretaste of what will happen if they actually get promoted to the Eredivisie.

The measures are not without reason. After the semi-finals of the play-offs against FC Den Bosch, won by Telstar, several dozen supporters of both teams entered the field and got into a fight.

To prevent such scenes, the view of the away section on the home team's stands was shielded with a black cloth on Thursday. A fence was also placed in front of the away section in recent days to keep the supporters within the section. A small army of security guards must prevent supporters from entering the field again.

Attack upon attack

From the kick-off, Willem II seems to have travelled mainly to play on the counter. Telstar tries to look for the attack and gets a first serious chance. The cross from Mees Kaandorp cannot be converted by Yousseff El Kachati. After fifteen minutes of play, it is suddenly 0-1 through a goal from Ringo Meerveld, after which Willem II leans back even further and lets Telstar control the game until half-time.

In the second half, Telstar sheds its inhibitions. With wave after wave of attacks, even after the equalizer, the team from Velsen combines smoothly and is dangerous for the goal of Willem II several times. The crowd chants the first name of club top scorer Yousseff El Kachati with every free kick or throw-in, Telstar's star performer with nineteen goals this season. Whether or not his club is promoted on Sunday, El Kachati seems certain of a place in the Eredivisie next season.

Suddenly, there is the moment the crowd has been waiting for. With a through ball from Danny Bakker, El Kachati is launched. He takes the ball and coolly finishes one-on-one with keeper Didillion: 2-1 for Telstar, with less than half an hour to play.

In the stands, many supporters do not sit down after the goal. Surely not? “I don’t know what I’m experiencing,” a supporter shouts to his neighbor.

At the late 2-2 by substitute Emilio Kehrer, the cheers and the singing in the stands are smothered. It is also the final score, but on Sunday evening in Tilburg Telstar is anything but hopeless.

This realization also lives among the departing public. It could well be that the approximately five thousand supporters will not recognize their stadium in a few months. Promotion to the Eredivisie would mean that Telstar would have to replace the artificial turf with natural grass. A major renovation is also needed to make the stadium Eredivisie-worthy. "Who knows what we will experience here next season", concludes the stadium announcer. The return match is in Tilburg on Sunday.