GROESBEEK, Netherlands (Interstat) — Sebastiaan van Bakel scored in the 61st minute and De Treffers made that goal stand for a 1-0 victory over Heracles on Thursday at Sportpark Zuid veld 1. De Treffers claimed its first competition win of the season, while Heracles absorbed its first competition loss. The home side defended its narrow advantage through a choppy closing half that included frequent fouls, bookings and substitutions. Heracles finished with zero goals, and De Treffers finished with one. The first half ended scoreless before van Bakel broke through after the interval.

The decisive moment came just after the hour. Kane Keizer, who was credited with an assist, helped set up van Bakel for the only goal. Van Bakel’s finish gave De Treffers the lead and ultimately decided a match in which clear chances were limited. Van Bakel played 89 minutes before being replaced. Keizer was involved in the goal and also picked up a yellow card in the 68th minute before coming off in the 74th minute. The goal separated the teams for the remainder, and De Treffers did not add to its lead.

Heracles could not produce an equalizer despite making changes to try to alter the match. Heracles made a halftime substitution involving Bruns T., and three more in the 60th minute involving Reine-Adelaide J., van Gilst T. and Tomic D. Later, Poppler V. and Vicente D. were involved in substitutions in the 76th minute. Those moves failed to break down a De Treffers side that held on for the clean sheet. The visitors had no answer in the final third and finished without a goal.

The match was heavily booked. Heracles’ Borac M. received yellow cards in the 33rd and 55th minutes. De Treffers’ Zeller M. was booked in the 35th, van Strien R. in the 52nd, van der Heijden S. in the 64th and Keizer K. in the 68th. Heracles also saw van Gilst T. booked in the 50th and Bultman S. in the 75th. De Treffers made late changes of its own, with substitutions involving den Dekker W. in the 83rd, Brussaard B. in the 84th, van Bakel S. in the 89th and Waterink T. in second-half stoppage time. The bookings disrupted the flow of the second half, and neither side created a sustained run of chances.

The result moved De Treffers to 1-0 in this competition and 7-1-4 across all competitions. Heracles dropped to 0-1 in the competition and 3-1-2 overall. De Treffers entered the match after a draw against Jong Sparta Rotterdam, a win at Jong Almere City, a home win over Barendrecht, a loss at Hoek and a home win over Spakenburg. Heracles had drawn at NAC Breda, won at Maastricht, beaten Waalwijk at home, drawn at Helmond and won at Vitesse in its listed previous matches.

The victory gave De Treffers a clean sheet and a narrow home result after a stretch that also included wins over Katwijk and Raalte and draws with HFC, Hardenberg and Rijnsburgse Boys. The home side’s defensive effort preserved the one-goal margin after the break. Heracles’ first competition defeat came despite its recent form across all competitions. De Treffers’ overall record stands at 7-1-4, while Heracles’ overall record stands at 3-1-2. Both sides now turn to their next fixtures in the competition.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of De Treffers 3, Heracles 0. Interstat’s ELO system had projected De Treffers with an 83.4 percent probability to win. Heracles had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 1 finished under the over/under line of 3.5.