NAC give Brandts the ultimate high

NAC Breda coach Ernie Brandts did not know how high he could jump until his Dutch side scored the goal which guaranteed his side a shot at UEFA Champions League qualification.

European place
Captain Edwin de Graaf scored the only goal in NAC's 1-0 win at Heracles Almelo on Sunday, with the result ensuring the Rats a best-ever third-placed finish in the Eredivisie and a berth in the end-of-season play-offs. "This is fantastic for the club," said 52-year-old Brandts, a former PSV Eindhoven defender who played for the Netherlands at the 1978 FIFA World Cup finals. "Until we scored the goal that put us 1-0 up I did not know how high I could jump. And at the final whistle it happened again. This is great, but it would be even more so if we earned a Champions League ticket through the play-offs."

Continental hunger
NAC's previous high-water mark came as they finished fourth in 2002/03 under Henk ten Cate, bowing out to Newcastle United FC in the first round of the subsquent UEFA Cup. "Our hunger for European club competition football is huge," said De Graaf. "We're really eager to go into Europe. We would prefer the Champions League but the UEFA Cup would be excellent too."

Coaching prowess
Much credit must go to Brandts who fashioned a competitive team out of former PSV, Feyenoord and AFC Ajax stars like Csaba Fehér, Jonas Kolkka, Victor Sikora and Anthony Lurling, but although his side's showing represents a massive improvement on last season's eleventh-placed finish, he will not coach NAC in Europe, with Robert Maaskant already having been appointed to replace him.

Game rescheduled
Meanwhile, Ajax's postponed game against FC Groningen has been rescheduled for 19.30CET on Wednesday. Fires at the Euroborg Stadium forced the match to be postponed on Saturday. "Fans of both clubs are welcome," read a statement from the Royal Netherlands Football Association. "This, however, does not necessarily mean Sunday's disturbances will go unpunished."