Linssen double drives NEC past Omonia after second-half turnaround

NEC came from behind to beat Omonia Nicosia 3-1 on Thursday, with Brian Linssen scoring twice during an impressive second-half recovery. Dick Schreuder’s side now have seven points from four Europa League matches, strengthening their position in the race to reach at least the play-off round.

The Nijmegen club endured a difficult first half and also lost Perr Schuurs to injury, prompting Willum Willumsson’s introduction and Darko Nejasmic’s move into defence. Omonia capitalised midway through the half when Panagiotis Andreou supplied Loïs Diony, who was allowed the space to finish beyond Gonzalo Crettaz. NEC’s best response before the break came from 19-year-old Ayodele Thomas, whose shot struck the crossbar.

Linssen levelled shortly after half-time, meeting Tjaronn Chery’s corner with a backward header at the near post. NEC then increased the intensity, while Schreuder introduced Dusan Tadic following his recovery from injury. The substitute quickly made an impact: goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski could only partially stop his shot, allowing Clement Bischof to convert the rebound for 2-1.

Tadic also created NEC’s third, releasing Linssen with a precise pass before the forward finished via the inside of the post. The Serbian nearly added another late on, but his attempt hit the crossbar. The result gave NEC a second straight Europa League win despite their poor start to the evening.