SC Heerenveen's midfield demonstrated its strength in Saturday's away win at Sparta Rotterdam, a result that keeps the team tenth in the Eredivisie with nine points. The partnership between Levi Smans and Nolhan Courtens produced the opening goal and gave coach Robin Veldman a glimpse of a complementary duo for the weeks ahead.
Training ground move
Levi Smans delivered the through ball after twenty-eight minutes which Nolhan Courtens finished. "That was a real training ground goal," Smans said afterwards. It was the Belgian midfielder's second goal of the season, struck with his right foot. The move set the tone for a convincing 0-4 victory, with Jacob Trenskow, Maxence Rivera and Marko Farji also on the scoresheet.
Veldman explained that he deployed Smans and Courtens as higher midfielders. "Levi's threat in behind worked out very well," the head coach stated. He emphasised that the two players complement each other, with one looking for depth and the other better at finding space. For the second ball around Mike Zonneveld, he kept Markus Linday available.
The win in Spangen ended a run of two defeats and two draws. Heerenveen now sit with a goal difference of plus two in the table, seven points behind leaders PSV Eindhoven. The full standings and upcoming fixtures are available online, including the next away match at PSV on October 9th. For that important fixture, Dirk Wanner Proper remains unavailable.
More detail at Voetbal International
