Excelsior suffered a historic 0 to 9 home defeat against FC Twente in the Eredivisie on Sunday, 1 November, after Nesto Groen was sent off within the opening six minutes at Stadion Woudestein. The match in Rotterdam resulted in the heaviest Eredivisie defeat in Excelsior’s history and the biggest league win for FC Twente. According to Dutch broadcaster NOS, it was also the first time an away team had won an Eredivisie match by nine goals without reply.
The game turned inside the first six minutes when Excelsior forward Groen tried to control a long ball and caught Twente defender Robin Pröpper with a high boot. Referee Erwin Blank showed Groen a straight red card, forcing the home side to play with ten men for almost the entire afternoon.
Wout Weghorst led the visiting attack by scoring four goals, while Norwegian winger Sondre Ørjasæter set up five. Ørjasæter became the first player to record five assists in a single Eredivisie match since the statistic began being tracked. Weghorst later noted that it was his first Eredivisie hat-trick and the first time he had scored four goals in an official match.
Twente opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Weghorst headed in a cross from Ørjasæter. Thomas van den Belt had a goal disallowed for offside in the 27th minute, but the visitors soon extended their lead. Weghorst doubled the advantage in the 32nd minute after linking up with Younes Taha, then completed his hat-trick a minute later. Van den Belt chipped goalkeeper Stijn van Gassel in the 39th minute, and Daan Rots added a fifth goal in first-half stoppage time.
The visitors kept pressing after the break. Jordy Bawuah finished another Ørjasæter pass four minutes into the second half. Weghorst scored his fourth goal from the penalty spot in the 62nd minute, and Ramiz Zerrouki converted a second penalty in the 71st minute. Rots completed the Excelsior 0-9 FC Twente scoreline in the 82nd minute with his second goal of the afternoon.
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Post-match reaction and league impact
Excelsior manager Ruben den Uil criticised his team’s response following the early dismissal. While acknowledging the disadvantage of playing with ten men, Den Uil said his players collapsed mentally and failed to stay organised or do their jobs as the score grew.
He added that conceding nine goals was unacceptable for the club. Groen also took blame for the red card, admitting that he made a poor choice, the referee was right to send him off, and his early exit made things much harder for his teammates.
The loss leaves Excelsior under growing pressure near the bottom of the Eredivisie table, especially after Telstar beat FC Utrecht on the same matchday to close the gap to the relegation places. FC Twente moved onto 23 points, putting them level with third-placed PSV.
Twente next play Pafos in the Conference League on 5 November before facing Ajax in the league, while Excelsior will try to recover at home against Go Ahead Eagles on 7 November.
