Dundalk travel to the Netherlands for their UEFA Europa Conference League Third Round, first leg clash with Vitesse Arnhem. Vinny Perth’s will be hoping for a less dramatic start to this two-legged tie, having fallen behind to FC Levadia Tallinn on
Dundalk travel to the Netherlands for their UEFA Europa Conference League Third Round, first leg clash with Vitesse Arnhem.
Vinny Perth’s will be hoping for a less dramatic start to this two-legged tie, having fallen behind to FC Levadia Tallinn on three occasions before Will Patching’s injury time winner secured their passage.
Tuesdays match kicks-off at 6pm and is available to watch for €10 on LOITV. The second leg will take place at Tallaght Stadium on Thursday August 12th at 8pm.
Opposition Overview
Vitesse FC were founded in 1892 making them one of the oldest clubs in the Dutch Eredivisie. They play their home games at the GeLire with a capacity of just over 20,000.
Despite their longevity, Vitesse have only three Dutch titles t their name with the last coming over 100 years ago. Last season they finished fourth in the table and were KNVB Cup runners-up following an injury time defeat at the hands of Ajax.
The Dutch side have been in pre-season for over a month with eight games under their belts. Most recently they defeated German Bundesliga side VFL Bochum 2-1.
The Defence
Last season, Vitesse conceded 38 goals in their 34 league games and averaged 9.63 shots against per game. In addition, they had the second highest challenge intensity in the league but also conceded the second highest number of fouls (11.06 per game) and had the highest number of yellow cards across the campaign.
Their goalkeeper Remko Pasveer was the Vitesse Player of the Year for the past two campaigns but has since departed for Ajax.
Midfield
Vitesse had more possession than their opposition last term with 54.7% on average per game. On the passing front, they attempted 412.4 per game with an 83.4% completion rate. Of these passes, they ranked second in the league for success rate (83.6%).
Oussama Tannane was key to making things happen from the middle last term with nine assists in 29 matches, the fourth highest in the league.
Attack
With 52 goals last season, Vitesse averaged 1.4 per game. Scoring 11 of these from outside the penalty area suggests the Dutch side will be willing to test Alessio Abibi at every opportunity.
Vitesse suffered the highest number of fouls last term with an average 12.76 free kicks per game. Dundalk will need to be wary of committing and giving away opportunities in threatening positions.
Strikers Armando Broja (on loan from Chelsea) and Ikoma Loïs Oenda both scored ten Eredivisie gaols in 2020/2021.
Vitesse in Europe
Dundalk will not be Vitesse’s first Irish opposition in Europe as the Dutch side have twice drawn Derry City. Their first meeting was in the 1990/1991 UEFA Cup First Round where a Derry side including Paul ‘Ski’ McGee and Felix Healy were defeated 1-0 over two legs. In 1992/1993 Derry and Vitesse were drawn together again and despite the emergence of Dermot O’Neil and Peter Hutton the Candystripes were knocked out 5-1 on aggregate.
Regular participants in the UEFA Cup, Vitesse’ last involvement in Europe came in 2018/2019 where they reached the Third Qualifying Round of the UEFA Europa League before falling victim to FC Basel 1893. The season prior to this, they reached the Group Stage of the Europa League finishing bottom of their group with Lazio, Nice and Zulte Waregem.
Key Player - Oussama Tannane
Tannane is a Moroccan winger who has also represented Netherlands at U21 level. The pacey number 14 was a shining light for Vitesse last term with eight goals and 12 assists in 34 games.
The 27-year-old spent time with Eredivisie sides Heerenveen and Heracles before a spell at Saint- Étienne (France) and Las Palmas (Spain). He returned to the Netherlands to join Vitesse in 2019 and he is becoming a central figure in the sides attack.
Manager - Thomas Letsch
Letsch has managed clubs in his native Germany and Austria with clubs including Red Bull Salzburg (Caretaker) and Austria Wien.
One of his managerial jobs lasted just three games with Erzebirge Aue dismissing the 52-year-old based on those results.
Last season he guided Vitesse to the Dutch Cup Final and a fourth-place finish.
