Alkmaar frustrated as run ends

By Berend Scholten

Dutch league leaders AZ Alkmaar made a stuttering start to 2005 as their ten-match winning run ended with a home draw against NEC Nijmegen. The Friday night fixture was the Eredivisie's first of the new year but Alkmaar failed to pick up where they had left off at the end of the old one.

Lok's first match
Co Adriaanse's side took the early initiative against an NEC side playing their first match since Cees Lok's official installation as coach. However, the home attack failed to break open the Nijmegen defence and it was the visitors who went ahead from a rare sortie, Romano Denneboom flashing in a shot which struck both posts before the ball fell for Andrzej Niedzielan who finished with ease.

Perez equalises
Alkmaar equalised on the stroke of half-time, when Danish attacker Kenneth Perez scored following a pass by Jan Kromkamp. The home side tried to force the victory in the second period as Adriaanse sent on attacking reinforcements in Ali Elkhattabi and Robin Nelisse, but NEC held firm to end Alkmaar's long winning run. A small consolation for Alkmaar may be that their first match of the first half of the season also ended in a 1-1 home draw, that time against SC Heerenveen.