Willem II Beats Almere City 2-0 to Reach Play-off Final

Willem II secured a place in the promotion/relegation play‑off final with a 2‑0 home win over Almere City. The victory came in the semi‑final round of the Dutch play‑offs. The match was played at the club’s ground in Tilburg.

Willem II had already defeated Almere City away the previous Wednesday, winning 1‑0 thanks to a goal from Samuel Bamba. That result set up the second encounter between the two sides.

The Dutch side will now face the 16th‑placed Eredivisie club, which will be decided by a winner‑takes‑all match between FC Volendam and Telstar on Sunday. The winner will become Willem II’s opponent in the final.

The first leg of the final is scheduled for Wednesday 20 May in Tilburg, with the return fixture on Saturday 23 May in either Volendam or Velsen‑Zuid. The aggregate winner will claim the last Eredivisie ticket for the 2026/27 season.

Both teams started the semi‑final energetically, creating several chances inside the opponent’s penalty area. Almere City’s Marley Dors appeared to open the scoring, but his effort was ruled out for off‑side.

Willem II broke the deadlock after about an hour when Uriel van Aalst took advantage of a mistake by Almere City goalkeeper Kuijsten. The keeper attempted to control the ball before spilling it to van Aalst, who calmly placed it into the empty net.

Almere City responded through Ferdy Druijf, who came close to equalising on two separate occasions, but failed to convert either chance. His attempts were the most threatening for the visitors.

In the closing stages, substitute Milan de Haan was shown a red card after a hard charge on Calvin Twigt, despite having entered the field only a minute earlier. The dismissal left Almere City with ten men.

Willem II sealed the win when Amine Et Taibi, who replaced the injured Twigt, struck a powerful shot that rattled the post. The late effort underscored the decisive nature of the victory.