Excelsior continue excellent season start with draw against NEC

[p]Round 3's matchup between [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/excelsior/nNlLsRUr/"]Excelsior[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nijmegen/nRluRF0T/"]NEC[/a] was rescheduled to give NEC extra time to prepare for their UEFA Champions League qualifier against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bodo-glimt/S0WZMUNG/"]Bodo/Glimt[/a].[/p][p]The hosts started Tuesday night's game on the front foot and scored almost immediately, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tahaui-adam/l2rUQpIO/"]Adam Tahaui[/a] finding the net from distance in the tenth minute. NEC's lead did not last until half-time, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/garden-david/vaZfNruE/"]David Garden[/a] prodding home as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/yegoian-irakli/U9aSiuA2/"]Irakli Yegoian[/a] continued his excellent form with his fourth assist of the campaign.[/p][image alt="Key match events and stats" id="c2c581d6-a367-45cc-95bc-aee7a2edc95c" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="f466e567-a4f7-4119-8cd3-21771a14d3de" original-width="3840" original-height="2160" /][p]In an evenly fought-out second half, Excelsior took the lead via debutant [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sulzbacher-valentin/QTQTo0gh/"]Valentin Sulzbacher[/a], who was launched into NEC's box and smashed it past [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alejandro-gonzalo/Moj39S61/"]Gonzalo Crettaz[/a] with his first touch in the Eredivisie.[/p][p]NEC really piled up the pressure after Sulzbacher's goal and found the equaliser at long last, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lebreton-noe/nTSAxkMK/"]Noe Lebreton[/a] securing a point for the Nijmegen side in the second minute of injury time.[/p][p]Excelsior's draw in Nijmegen meant that the Rotterdam outfit stayed unbeaten in four of their first five Eredivisie games, making it the best start to a top-tier season in club history. NEC, meanwhile, avoided a third straight home defeat in the Eredivisie but still failed to convince in the new season. NEC face [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cambuur/QRyYgO7J/"]Cambuur[/a] next before visiting [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/juventus/C06aJvIB/"]Juventus[/a] in the UEFA Europa League next week.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/excelsior-nNlLsRUr/nijmegen-nRluRF0T/?mid=UozGEIIk"]Check out the full match statistics on Flashscore[/a][/b][/p][embed guid="7aa5f274-1400-4bd9-a5e3-bd997173399f" url="https://x.com/ESPNnl/status/2097396135866327302?s=20" social-type="twitter" /]