Outstanding Mohamed Ihattaren is worth his weight in gold for Fortuna in win over ADO
Fortuna Sittard won 2-3 away at ADO Den Haag, thanks in no small part to an outstanding Mohamed Ihattaren. The Dutch-Moroccan scored twice and set up another.
In a sold-out WerkTalent Stadion, ADO were chasing their first three points of the season after an impressive 2-2 draw against Feyenoord. The game started cautiously and offered little in the opening stages.
Just under half an hour in, though, Mohamed Ihattaren made the difference. The midfielder rode his luck as the ball fell kindly for him, then pulled the trigger from the edge of the box. His shot took a deflection off Milan Hokke and flew into the net for 0-1.
Fortuna struck again moments later. Ihattaren's cross found Lequincio Zeefuik, who guided a clever header in to make it 0-2 in Den Haag and put the side from Limburg firmly in control.
After the break, the home side produced the response they wanted. Within 15 minutes, Evan Rottier reached the byline and picked out Yannick Eduardo, who neatly turned the cross into the net for 1-2.
That momentum did not last, because Ihattaren struck again almost immediately after ADO had pulled one back. A magnificent effort from distance restored the two-goal cushion. The left-footer let fly from around 25 metres and hammered the ball in off the underside of the crossbar.
Still, the home side refused to give up and kept pushing for one last lifeline. In the ninetieth minute, Jesse Bal made it tense again by heading in Juho Kilo's cross for 2-3. The equaliser never came. The defeat leaves ADO in seventeenth place with just one point. FC Utrecht, Willem II and SC Cambuur have also collected only one point so far.
