Genemuiden beat Lisse 2-1 in the first preliminary round of the Dutch Cup on Tuesday evening. The match finished in the 80th minute when J. Alkemade struck the decisive goal after both sides had already exchanged openings. It was a result that extended Genemuiden's cup hopes while ending Lisse's run in what looked like a comfortable away fixture on paper.
M. van Rooijen opened the scoring for the hosts in the 54th minute, catching the visitors off guard after a sustained period of pressure. Genemuiden had been making do with a third of possession but were pressing high up the pitch, and the breakthrough came when they least expected it. The goal shifted the momentum entirely.
Lisse responded almost immediately. S. Egbers levelled the score five minutes later, proving that the visitors would not be pushed around despite their lack of territorial dominance. And here's the thing — that equalizer came at a moment when Genemuiden might have felt they had earned their lead. The away side simply refused to let the game slip.
By then the match had become something of a cage match. Genemuiden dug in, and J. Alkemade found the space he needed in the 80th minute to finish off a move that had been building all evening. To be fair, Lisse had been second to everything in the final quarter, and the home side sensed blood.
The statistics told a different story from the result. Lisse registered 121 attacks against Genemuiden's 77, and dominated possession at 67 per cent. Yet three goals came from eight corners combined, and the hosts won with a third of the ball. Many shots with one goal means chances went begging, and that is what happened here.
Genemuiden's three yellow cards told their own tale of a match fought in the trenches. Lisse earned just one, but could not convert their superiority into victory. The away side's recent form had been strong — four wins from their last five — but the cup does not care about form tables.