Nice battle back to earn second-half draw with Twente in feisty affair
For a Nice side winless in the UEL so far this term, this clash had a must-win feel to it, so you can only imagine how their supporters would’ve been feeling when they fell behind inside 10 minutes.
Twente took the lead in impressive circumstances too, when a free-flowing move down the right finished with Youri Regeer teeing up Daan Rots, whose half-volley arrowed into the bottom left corner. That was in keeping with the pattern of the first half as it was all one-way traffic towards the Nice goal, but a second goal was proving elusive.
It took Nice until a couple of minutes before the break to work their first sighting of goal, and even when they did Sofiane Diop’s effort was easily gathered by Przemyslaw Tyton.
Nice at least came out a little stronger after the break and signalled their intent when Youssouf Ndayishimiye’s header dropped just wide of the post. But in pushing for a leveller, they were almost caught cold on the break when Michel Vlap drove from deep and crashed an effort against the outside of the post.
That was a warning sign Nice failed to heed, as just minutes later they were two goals behind. Sam Lammers was the man who grabbed it, nutmegging Ndayishimiye in the area to work a yard before powering home at the near post. Perhaps that was what Nice needed to spark them into life as they managed to reduce the arrears through Jeremie Boga, who curled home within a minute of coming off the bench.
But their hopes of a comeback were dashed soon after when Sofiane Diop scraped down the back of Regeer’s Achilles and was sent for an early bath.
It was Regeer who nearly had the last laugh 10 minutes from time when his cross caught everyone by surprise, including Marcin Bułka, who watched as it bounced back off the crossbar.
There was a late sting in the tail though, as the 10 men of Nice caught Twente napping and struck an unlikely equaliser. It was two substitutes who combined when Jonathan Clauss marauded down the right and laid the ball on a plate for Mohamed-Ali Cho to sweep home at the far post.
Twente’s Bart van Rooij being sent off in the dying moments set up an interesting finale, but neither side were able to seize the initiative and secure what would’ve been a huge win as they seek a top-24 finish.
Nice do however remain unbeaten on home soil against Dutch opposition.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Youri Regeer (Twente)
