Fortuna Sittard goes to De Kuip on Saturday with a familiar problem for Feyenoord to test and a familiar name at the center of it: Danny Buijs. The visitors arrive sixth in the Eredivisie after ten league rounds, and the fixture has become one that Rotterdam has learned not to dismiss.
Three of the last four Eredivisie meetings between Feyenoord and Fortuna Sittard in De Kuip ended in draws, which is why this match is being searched for now. Fortuna Sittard has also won four of its 27 previous matches against Feyenoord in De Kuip, a modest total that still includes results Feyenoord would rather forget.
One of those came in 1989/90, when Fortuna Sittard led 2-0 before the match was abandoned after 83 minutes and Feyenoord supporters stormed the pitch. Jos Mordang scored in the 34th minute and Richard de Vries added a second about ten minutes before the end. Another arrived in October 1997, when Patrick Paauwe scored in the 59th minute and Ronald Hamming struck twice in a 3-1 win over Feyenoord, with Paul Bosvelt on the scoresheet for the home side.
The third notable away victory came on 6 May 2001, when Hamming scored after 16 minutes, Jochem van der Hoeven added another before half-time and Fortuna Sittard survived a late Feyenoord push. Igor Korneev scored in the 76th minute and Joost Volmer replied three minutes after that equalizer to seal a 3-2 win in front of 20,000 spectators.
That is the friction in Saturday’s match: Fortuna Sittard has made De Kuip awkward for Feyenoord in recent years, but the broader record still tilts heavily toward the home side. Buijs is not walking into a fortress with no cracks, though, and that is why this game carries more weight than an ordinary league trip. The next answer comes on the pitch, where Fortuna Sittard can turn those repeated draws into a fifth away win in De Kuip or leave the pattern exactly where it is.
