False start for Anthony Correia: FC Utrecht come to life too late against FC Groningen | Goal.com

Veröffentlicht am 09 Aug 2026 | Lesezeit: 2 Minuten

Anthony Correia began his spell as FC Utrecht manager with defeat. The Domstedelingen lost 2-1 away at FC Groningen, so his official debut did not bring three points.

Willumsson struck inside ten minutes. Via Ángel Alarcón, the ball dropped in behind the Utrecht defence and the striker kept his cool one-on-one with goalkeeper Michael Brouwer to slot home for 1-0.

Yoann Cathline had already been presented with a huge chance in the opening stages, but Etienne Vaessen denied him. After 26 minutes, the Domstedelingen were handed another big opening. This time Alarcón broke through, but he too could not beat the goalkeeper.

Groningen then took control, while Utrecht dropped a little deeper and mainly looked to threaten on the break. That barely produced any big chances. Both sides still found the net, but goals from Willumsson and Dani de Wit were ruled out for offside.

Following the break, Groningen came out sharply. Thom van Bergen doubled the lead with a clever chipped finish over Brouwer: 2-0. Trots van het Noorden stayed on top, gave little away and controlled the match.

At that stage, a third Groningen goal looked more likely than a Utrecht response. Yet Adrian Blake pulled one back ten minutes from time: 2-1. Davy van den Berg kept his composure when through one-on-one with Vaessen and squared the ball to the winger, who simply slotted home to reduce the deficit. Only minutes later, Alarcón looked set to equalise, but the Groningen goalkeeper got there in time.

Dick Lukkien's team were visibly shaken and looked uneasy after conceding. For more than 80 minutes there had seemed no cause for concern, but the closing stages still turned tense for the Groningen supporters. Correia and his men, however, could not find another goal and started the season with defeat in the far north.

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