NEC Nijmegen demolish Al-Fayha in one-sided friendly rout

The Goffert Stadium provided a warm welcome for what turned out to be a thoroughly one-sided contest. NEC came into the match with clear attacking intent, and they would make their superiority felt from the opening stages. Al-Fayha offered little resistance as the hosts carved out chance after chance, setting the tone for a long afternoon for the visiting defence.

The goals began to flow with inevitability as the match progressed. Thierry Chery opened the scoring in the 24th minute to spark the onslaught, and just eight minutes later an unnamed NEC player extended the lead to 2-0. By the 35th minute, Bas Linssen had added a third as the home side ran riot. The damage had largely been done before the interval, with Al-Fayha completely overwhelmed and offering virtually nothing in attack.

The second half saw NEC continue their relentless assault without ever needing to shift out of top gear. Nicolas Lebreton made it 4-0 in the 73rd minute, and Kody Sierhuis doubled his tally with two goals in quick succession, scoring in the 78th and 83rd minutes to make it 6-0. An unmarked NEC player completed the rout with a late goal in the 89th minute, securing a commanding 7-0 victory that spoke volumes about the hosts' quality and intensity.

For NEC, this was a statement performance that will have given the coaching staff plenty of encouragement heading into the new season. The attacking threat proved too much for Al-Fayha to handle, and the clinical finishing on display suggests the Nijmegen side are building nicely toward their competitive fixtures. As for the Saudi visitors, this represented a humbling experience on their travels, though friendlies of this nature rarely define a team's campaign.