Excelsior lost a home Eredivisie match to FC Utrecht on Saturday thanks to a late goal. Marinus Dijkhuizen's side fell to a 1-2 defeat after Dani de Wit scored in the second minute of added time.
The visitors from Utrecht took an early lead. In the 36th minute, Artem Stepanov headed home from a cross by Arthur Zagré, who moved from Excelsior to Utrecht this summer. It was the Ukrainian's fifth goal of the season. Excelsior pushed for an equaliser and created chances, but only found the net twenty minutes from time. Aymen Sliti, on loan from Feyenoord this season, made it 1-1 after an assist from Ágúst Orri Thorsteinsson. The match seemed headed for a draw, but Utrecht struck in the dying seconds. A defensive error was punished by midfielder Dani de Wit, who slotted in the 1-2 winner.
A point seemed within reach, making the late concession particularly painful. Excelsior remains in sixth place in the Eredivisie with ten points from five matches. The team has scored twelve goals and conceded five. The gap to leaders AZ Alkmaar is six points. Recent form has been mixed, with two wins, a draw and two defeats in the last five league games. The full standings can be found here.
Aymen Sliti was the most dangerous player for the home side with his equaliser. The Tunisian forward also provided an assist in the 2-2 draw with NEC Nijmegen earlier in the week. Defender Niklas Vesterlund returned from a short injury lay-off and played the full match. Excelsior's lineup changed from the previous game, with Adrian Blake starting on the left flank instead of Yoann Cathline. Blake even hit the post in the early stages. The full squad list and player statistics are available on the squad page.
Excelsior's next assignment is an away match against Ajax on Saturday, 19 September. Ajax currently sits fifth in the table. The full schedule for the coming weeks is on the fixtures page. The team must quickly put this defeat behind them ahead of the important clash in Amsterdam.
