Excelsior vs Fortuna Sittard Match Recap - Oct 19, 2025

Excelsior Stuns Fortuna Sittard at Woudestein, Sparking Hope in Rotterdam Relegation Fight

In the crisp autumn air of Rotterdam’s Stadion Woudestein, a single early goal by Excelsior’s Gyan de Regt—the 20-year-old academy graduate who only last month was playing in the reserves—proved enough to tilt a match thick with tactical tension and desperate ambition. The 1–0 victory over a stunned Fortuna Sittard is the kind of result that, on paper, shouldn’t have happened: a team languishing second from bottom, with just six points from eight matches, defeating a side comfortably mid-table with more than double the points haul. But football, as Excelsior reminded everyone on Sunday, is rarely played on paper.

The tone was set early. In the ninth minute, Fortuna’s defense, so often compact and disciplined this season, momentarily lost concentration. A deft chip from the right flank found the head of De Regt, who managed to squeeze the ball past Fortuna’s goalkeeper, Ivor Pandur, with a glancing header near the far post. The stadium, largely empty but for a devoted core of home supporters, erupted. It was only De Regt’s second Eredivisie goal, but it instantly put the weight of the match on the shoulders of a team that has spent most of its season under pressure.

What followed was a period of prolonged tension. Fortuna, stung into action, pressed higher. Their midfield, featuring the creativity of Iñigo Cordoba and the industry of Alen Halilović, tried to find a way through Excelsior’s compact lines. But Excelsior, under the watchful eye of manager Marinus Dijkhuizen, had clearly drilled discipline into his side. The full-backs tucked in, the center-backs threw themselves into every challenge, and the midfielders tracked back to plug gaps. Even star striker Szymon Włodarczyk, usually the team’s focal point in attack, spent much of the second half putting in crucial defensive work.

The visitors’ best opportunity came in the 62nd minute, when substitute Justin Lonwijk—who had scored the winner in Fortuna’s last outing—found a pocket of space at the top of the box. His shot was powerful but straight at Norbert Alblas, who parried it away with an outstretched arm. Moments later, another Fortuna move ended with Alblas diving low to deny Luka Tunjić. Excelsior’s goalkeeper, who has seen his share of heavy defeats this season, was suddenly the hero his side needed.

By the final whistle, Excelsior had done just enough—both to claim a rare victory and to give themselves a lifeline in the relegation battle. For Fortuna, the result is a setback, but not yet a crisis: they remain in eighth, now with 13 points from eight matches, their mid-table cushion still intact. But for Excelsior, climbing out of 17th and finally matching their win total from last season, the three points are transformative. Suddenly, the specter of relegation seems a little less inevitable.

The context of this result is as important as the scoreline. Excelsior came into this match on the back of two narrow defeats—a 1–2 loss at Heerenveen and a 1–2 home reverse against mighty PSV Eindhoven—but also with two victories in their last five: a battling 2–1 win at FC Volendam and a shock 1–0 triumph over Twente. There’s a scrappy resilience here, even if the losses have been frequent. Fortuna, meanwhile, had won three of their last five, including victories over FC Volendam and Utrecht, but had also suffered a 2–3 defeat at Twente. Today’s loss was, in some ways, a reversion to the mean for a side that has lived on fine margins all season.

The head-to-head record between these sides is surprisingly even. Since 2019, the teams have split wins and draws, with Excelsior edging the recent encounters at Woudestein. Today’s match was another chapter in that quietly compelling rivalry, one fought not with the high drama of the Klassieker or the Deventer derby, but with the urgency of two clubs desperate to avoid the drop.

The aftermath will matter more than the 90 minutes. For Fortuna, there’s no need for panic, but questions will be asked about missed opportunities and an attack that, for all its promise, has yet to consistently fire. For Excelsior, the challenge is to find consistency—to turn isolated flashes of brilliance into the kind of sustained run that can lift them up the table.

As the final whistle blew, the home players celebrated as if something greater was at stake—because it is. For the club and its supporters, every point feels like a step away from the abyss, every goal like a reprieve. The road ahead is still long, and the margins remain perilously thin. But on this crisp afternoon in Rotterdam, Excelsior showed that, in football, hope can flicker even in the darkest corners of the table. And sometimes, all it takes is one glancing header from a local hero to keep it alight.