Twente women opened their campaign with a 2:1 victory over De Graafschap in the first round of the Eredivisie regular season. The match took place on Sunday afternoon in front of a modest crowd. To be fair, the result told only part of the story — Twente had already lost two of their three previous encounters with PSV this season, so this was a chance to reset.
There were no goals to mark the opening exchanges, but the home side began to impose themselves. By then, De Graafschap were chasing the game more than dictating it. Twente went for the jugular in the second half, and eventually found their breakthrough. The visitors pulled one back but could not find an equaliser.
The statistics, when you look at them, reflect the match flow. Twente dominated possession and created more chances, though not all of them fell to purpose. De Graafschap had their moments but struggled to sustain pressure. There is unrest in the dressing room for the away side after that defeat.
And here's the thing about this result — it places Twente top of the table with six points from two games. De Graafschap sit sixth with three points after one win and one loss. The gap between them is small, but the momentum has shifted.
Twente had lost 3:0 to PSV earlier this month and 1:2 in their other meeting with the Dutch champions. This win suggests a different approach. De Graafschap, meanwhile, will need to regroup quickly if they want to climb the standings.