PEC Zwolle Climbs Out of Bottom Half with Gritty Win Over Struggling ADO Den Haag

PEC Zwolle snapped ADO Den Haag's faint hopes of an early-season turnaround Sunday afternoon at MAC³PARK Stadion, riding a resilient second-half performance to a 2-1 victory that lifted the hosts into the Eredivisie Women's middle tier while consigning their visitors to continued struggles near the basement.

The win marked PEC Zwolle's third consecutive victory and fourth triumph in their last five matches across all competitions, a remarkable reversal of fortunes for a side that opened the campaign with back-to-back defeats. For ADO Den Haag, meanwhile, the loss extended their winless streak to four matches and left them languishing in 11th place with just a single point from four fixtures—their only blemish on what would otherwise be a perfect record of defeat coming from a 2-2 draw with SC Heerenveen in late September.

The contrast in momentum couldn't have been starker. PEC Zwolle entered the match buoyed by their narrow 1-0 road victory over Excelsior just a week prior, while ADO Den Haag arrived in Zwolle still smarting from their fourth consecutive defeat—a 1-0 home loss to AZ that epitomized their goal-scoring struggles. The visitors hadn't found the back of the net in three straight matches, managing just two goals across their entire campaign.

Yet ADO Den Haag defied that dismal attacking record early, somehow finding themselves ahead against the run of play. The visitors' opener came against expectations, offering a fleeting glimpse of optimism for a side that had been outscored 9-2 on the season. But that lead proved as fragile as ADO's league position suggested it might be.

PEC Zwolle's equalizer shifted the afternoon's narrative entirely. The home side, playing with the confidence that comes from winning three of four, pressed forward with renewed urgency. Their persistence paid dividends before the interval, drawing level and setting up what would become a tense second-half battle.

The decisive goal arrived after the break, completing PEC Zwolle's comeback and underlining the gulf in current form between these two sides. Where PEC Zwolle demonstrated the composure and clinical finishing that has defined their recent surge up the table, ADO Den Haag showed all the fragility of a team that has now lost three straight and collected just one point from a possible twelve.

Standings Shuffle

The victory lifted PEC Zwolle to seventh place on six points, a respectable position considering their difficult start to the campaign that included a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of league leaders FC Twente. That defeat to Twente—who remain unbeaten in their last 15 Eredivisie Women matches—now looks less damaging in retrospect, particularly with PEC Zwolle having responded with three wins in four outings.

ADO Den Haag's plight grows more concerning by the week. Rooted in 11th place with just a single point, they face the very real prospect of spending the season battling relegation unless they can arrest this alarming slide. Their 6-0 thrashing at Ajax in early September set an ominous tone, and nothing in the subsequent three matches—a narrow defeat to Feyenoord, that draw with Heerenveen, and the loss to AZ—has suggested meaningful improvement.

The goal-scoring disparity tells the story most starkly: PEC Zwolle have netted seven times in four matches while conceding eight, suggesting an attacking identity taking shape. ADO Den Haag have managed just two goals while shipping nine, numbers that paint a picture of a team struggling at both ends of the pitch.

Path Forward

For PEC Zwolle, this result represents validation of their early-season recovery. After dropping their opening two fixtures to Utrecht and in that heavy defeat to Twente, they've righted the ship with victories over Hera United, Excelsior, and now ADO Den Haag. Manager and players alike will take confidence from their ability to come from behind against an opponent they were expected to beat.

ADO Den Haag face altogether different questions. With just one point from four matches and a goal difference of minus-seven, they need to find answers quickly before their slow start becomes an insurmountable deficit. The schedule offers no easy respite in a league where the top three—Twente, Ajax, and PSV—have combined to win all twelve of their matches so far this season.

Sunday's result served as a microcosm of both teams' seasons to date: PEC Zwolle resilient, opportunistic, and trending upward; ADO Den Haag fragile, toothless in attack, and desperately searching for their first win of the campaign.