VVV Venlo vs Emmen Match Recap - Oct 17, 2025

Van Zijl’s Double Secures Statement Win as VVV Venlo Crush Emmen 4-0, Reigniting Season

On a chilly autumn night at Covebo Stadion – De Koel, VVV Venlo delivered a cathartic performance that signaled, perhaps, the stirring of embers long dormant this Eerste Divisie campaign. In dispatching FC Emmen with a commanding 4-0 result, Venlo not only snapped a two-match losing streak but also reignited hope for a side that, before Friday, had spent October lingering in the league’s lower depths.

The evening’s decisive margin was no accident, but the product of a second-half renaissance that saw Venlo’s attackers suddenly find the conviction and ruthlessness missing from their recent labors. After a tentative, tightly wound opening forty-five, the match burst open with Nassim Ait Mouhou’s breakthrough just four minutes after the interval—a goal that felt, as much as anything, like a collective exhale for the home faithful.

The buildup was methodical. Venlo, previously short on both ideas and end product in consecutive defeats to Dordrecht and Den Bosch, moved the ball through midfield with a crispness and patience that belied their recent record. It was Jorn Triep, returning to the starting lineup after a standout outing at Jong Ajax, who ignited the move—threading a diagonal pass to Ait Mouhou near the edge of the box. The forward took one deft touch to settle before curling a low shot past a sprawling Mickey van der Hart, the Emmen goalkeeper left grasping at shadows as the ball nestled inside the far post.

For Emmen, so recently rampant in their 6-0 dismantling of FC Eindhoven, there was no hint of last week’s swagger. Instead, the visitors played as if haunted by their own inconsistencies—tentative in possession, brittle under pressure, and unable to answer Venlo’s rising tempo. Their night grew longer in the 58th minute as Luuk Verheij capitalized on Emmen’s disarray, latching onto a loose clearance after a scrambled corner and thrashing a left-footed drive from twelve yards through a thicket of defenders.

VVV Venlo, having scored twice in ten electrifying minutes, now looked unrecognizable from the side that had managed just one goal over their previous two matches. The momentum proved contagious. As Emmen pressed forward with increasing desperation, they left themselves exposed at the back—a flaw Bjorn van Zijl was all too eager to exploit.

Van Zijl’s first goal, in the 71st minute, effectively sealed the result. Ait Mouhou, again the catalyst, sped down the left and delivered a teasing cutback that found Van Zijl darting into the box unchecked. The veteran striker’s finish was measured, swept deftly beyond van der Hart’s reach. Sensing blood, Venlo pressed on, and Van Zijl added his second—and Venlo’s fourth—five minutes from time, turning a slick one-two with Naïm Matoug into a clinical strike at the near post.

It was the kind of dominant display Venlo’s supporters have craved, particularly in light of their patchwork campaign. With the win, Venlo leapfrogged two places in the standings, climbing to 12th with 12 points from 10 matches—a modest return, but enough to keep them within touching distance of mid-table security. After five matches that included three dispiriting defeats, Friday’s result offers a sliver of optimism at precisely the right moment.

For Emmen, by contrast, the rout was a sobering regression. Having taken 6 points from their last five matches—highlighted by a historic thrashing of Eindhoven but marred by defensive lapses in losses to Cambuur and Vitesse—they arrived at De Koel hoping to cement a foothold in the top half of the table. Instead, their defensive frailties resurfaced in dramatic fashion, leaving them stranded on 13 points from 11 matches, precariously lodged in 10th place and looking over their shoulder instead of up.

The head-to-head history between these sides had offered little comfort for Venlo; Emmen were unbeaten in their previous three meetings. Yet on this night, history was swiftly rewritten. Venlo’s four-goal salvo matched their highest output of the season, and their clean sheet denied an Emmen attack that had scored in every away match this campaign.

If the atmosphere grew raucous with each Venlo goal, there was still a note of caution in the air. This is, after all, a side still seeking consistency after a turbulent start—a team that has alternated between brilliant attacking performances like the 4-2 win at Jong Ajax and frustratingly flat outings such as their recent shutouts against Dordrecht and Den Bosch. For Venlo manager Rick Kruys, the challenge now is to turn tonight’s outpouring into a lasting pattern, rather than another isolated peak.

Emmen, meanwhile, face questions of their own. With only two wins in their last seven, their early-season sparkle has dimmed, and their defensive discipline—so essential in the Eerste Divisie’s marathon—looks worryingly brittle. Manager Fred Grim will be desperate to coax a response when his side returns to De Oude Meerdijk next week, lest the season’s promise slip further from reach.

For one night at least, Venlo’s storm clouds lifted, and De Koel felt, unmistakably, like home again. Whether this thunderous win marks the start of a climb or a brief flash of brilliance remains the question that will define both clubs in the weeks ahead.