AZ picked up a surprising 3-1 victory over Fenerbahce in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday. Two goals from the Alkmaar club’s youth products helped the team to a victory against the Turkish side.
Substitute Ro-Zangelo Daal opened the scoring in the second half on his debut for AZ. Youssef En-Nesyri then equalized after having missed a penalty earlier. Substitute Kees Smit, who played his first European match for the Alkmaarders, made it 2-1. With Denso Kasius getting the final goal of the match to make it 3-1.
AZ coach Maarten Martens needed a victory. Since they defeated Elfsborg in the Europa League, the Alkmaarders have lost to Athletic Club and Tottenham Hotspur. AZ also only picked up 1 point against Go Ahead Eagles in their last five league games. Martens was even missing important players such as Jordy Clasie, Ruben van Bommel, and the suspended David Møller Wolfe, against the Turkish club, who are managed by legendary Portuguese manager José Mourinho.
The home team started well and put Fenerbahçe under pressure. The Turks became stronger during the first half, but goalkeeper Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro intervened several times. In the second half, Martens brought Daal into the team for the first time. The 20-year-old player from Jong AZ ran through after a clever ball from Troy Parrott and coolly shot home.
The Turks were able to level the score a few minutes later because the referee whistled for a penalty after a foul by Mees de Wit on Edin Dzeko. However, Owusu-Oduro stopped En-Nesyri’s weak effort. A few minutes later, En-Nesyri equalized after Dzeko’s assist.
However, AZ continued to attack. The 18-year-old Smit, who played one Eredivisie match for AZ last season, was sent through by a pass by Sven Mijnans, cut down his defender, and pushed the ball past the goalkeeper. In the final phase, the young player gave a pass to Kasius, who decided the match with the third goal.
