Sem van Duijn proved the catalyst in the second half as Telstar surged to a commanding 4-1 victory over Sparta Rotterdam, with the forward’s quickfire brace breaking the contest open.
The breakthrough came in the 72nd minute when Van Duijn timed his run perfectly, drifting into space in the middle to calmly finish Tyrone Owusu’s precise delivery.
His intelligent movement between the lines had already been causing problems, and he took his moment with confidence.
Just six minutes later, he doubled his tally in style. Latching onto a well-weighted through ball from Cedric Hatenboer on the left, Van Duijn drove forward and fired a low effort across goal into the far corner from a tight angle, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance.
He later made way in the 87th minute to warm applause after a decisive display.
Beyond his goals, Van Duijn’s influence was clear. He registered three shots, two on target, and had six touches inside the box, constantly threatening in dangerous areas.
His work rate also stood out, winning four aerial duels and regaining possession eight times to help set the tone defensively from the front.
Telstar’s approach of finding him early in the inside-left channel paid off, with runners playing off his positioning and movement, keeping Sparta’s defence under sustained pressure during a dominant spell.
The result lifts Telstar from 16th to 14th in the table ahead of their trip to NEC Nijmegen, while Sparta Rotterdam remain 10th and will look to respond when they host Go Ahead Eagles.
