Groningen vs Sparta Rotterdam — Eredivisie: stats, lineups & analysis
Match Events
play_arrow5 clips- 1′Groningen, goal:1–0assist
- 5′Groningen, yellow card:Foul
- 15′Sparta Rotterdam, goal:1–1assist
- 25′Sparta Rotterdam, goal:1–2
- 29′Groningen, goal:2–2assist
- 36′Sparta Rotterdam, yellow card:Foul
- Half-time2 – 2
- 46′Sparta Rotterdam, substitution:off
- 55′Sparta Rotterdam, substitution:off
- 61′Sparta Rotterdam, yellow card:Foul
- 71′Sparta Rotterdam, substitution:off
- 71′Sparta Rotterdam, substitution:Andrej Kostićoff
- 75′Sparta Rotterdam, yellow card:Foul
- 75′Groningen, substitution:off
- 83′Groningen, substitution:off
- 83′Groningen, substitution:off
- 83′Groningen, substitution:off
- 85′Sparta Rotterdam, goal:2–3Andrej Kostić
- 87′Groningen, substitution:off
- 87′Sparta Rotterdam, substitution:off
- Full-time2 – 3
Lineups
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Key Stats
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Groningen
Sparta Rotterdam
Match report
Sparta Rotterdam snatch late win at Groningen after five-goal thriller
Sparta Rotterdam won 3-2 at Groningen in matchday 11 of the Eredivisie, Andrej Kostić scoring the decisive goal in the 85th minute at the Hitachi Capital Mobility Stadion. The visitors had twice come from behind or level to take a match that Groningen had begun in the best possible way.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Groningen led after a minute, Jacob Ondrejka scoring from Brynjólfur Willumsson's assist. Sparta responded in the 15th minute when Cedric Hatenboer equalised from Marvin Young's pass, and Milan Zonneveld put them ahead in the 25th. Thom van Bergen levelled for the hosts in the 29th minute, converting a Hans Hateboer assist, and it was 2-2 at half-time.
The second half produced no goals until Kostić struck late to settle it. Groningen had 59% of the possession and 20 shots to Sparta's 8, with ten of them on target against four, yet finished on the losing side. The defeat followed a 2-0 home loss to Emmen for Dick Lukkien's team.
The result lifted Sparta from 15th to 11th, on 12 points, while Groningen stayed eighth on 15. Oddsivio's pre-match forecast had given Sparta Rotterdam a 24% chance of winning. Sparta travel to ADO Den Haag in the Eredivisie on Saturday, and Groningen visit AZ Alkmaar on Sunday.
Jacob Ondrejka was the highest-rated player on the pitch at 8.18, scoring Groningen's opener after a minute. Zonneveld, who put Sparta 2-1 ahead, was next on 7.95.
Groningen had 20 shots to Sparta's 8, but it was the visitors who left with the points.
Sparta Rotterdam won 3–2 away against Groningen (half-time 2–2).
Groningen met Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie (Regular Season - 11). Kick-off was Sunday, 1 November 2026, 15:45 UTC at Hitachi Capital Mobility Stadion. Referee: Martijn Vos.
Team pages: Groningen · Sparta Rotterdam · Eredivisie
Key moments
- 1' Goal: Jacob Ondrejka (assist: Brynjólfur Willumsson) — 1–0 · Watch Jacob Ondrejka's goal video (1')
- 15' Goal: Cedric Hatenboer (assist: Marvin Young) — 1–1 · Watch Cedric Hatenboer's goal video (15')
- 25' Goal: Milan Zonneveld — 1–2 · Watch Milan Zonneveld's goal video (25')
- 29' Goal: Thom van Bergen (assist: Hans Hateboer) — 2–2 · Watch Thom van Bergen's goal video (29')
- 85' Goal: Andrej Kostić — 2–3 · Watch Andrej Kostić's goal video (85')
Starting line-ups
Groningen (4-3-3)
Sparta Rotterdam (5-4-1)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Groningen 52%, the draw 24%, Sparta Rotterdam 24%. It finished Groningen 2–3 Sparta Rotterdam.
Groningen's stronger rating gives them the edge — Groningen sit 75 points higher on our strength rating, 1523 to 1448, which puts them in front at 52%, though their scoring has run ahead of their chances and hot home sides like this tend to give some back. The draw starts near 27% for a gap this size and drops to 24% because both teams' recent games average 4.4 goals.
Why Groningen at 52%?
Groningen sit 75 points higher on our strength rating — 1523 to 1448. Sides with a 40–80-point rating edge at home won 50.2% of 11,113 such games.
Why only 52%?
Groningen scored +0.70 goals per game beyond chance-quality — home sides this hot gave some of it back. Opponents of hot-finishing home sides won 28.5% of 1,669 games, vs 27.9% against normal finishing.
Why the draw at 24%?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 26.8%. These teams' recent games average 4.4 goals — a high-scoring environment. Games in that environment drew 23.2% of 18,539. The goals environment takes 2.3 points off the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Sparta Rotterdam have rebuilt the eleven — fewer of last season's regular starters are still starting. Squad turnover reads dramatic but hasn't moved results once the rating is controlled: the busiest windows landed within noise across 5,368 games, rebuilt elevens likewise across 5,446, and even losing the most regular starters showed nothing (5,336). Sparta Rotterdam won 5 of the last 6 meetings with Groningen. The record is 5 wins for Sparta Rotterdam, 0 draws and 1 win for Groningen. These were 5 Eredivisie games and 1 KNVB Beker game played at both grounds between 28 May 2023 and 31 January 2026. Latest meeting: 31 January 2026 — Sparta Rotterdam 2–0 Groningen. In 6,101 historical matches between similarly rated teams, visiting sides with the stronger head-to-head record won 28.2%.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Groningen vs Sparta Rotterdam final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this Eredivisie fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
- Watch Jacob Ondrejka's goal against Sparta Rotterdam (1').
- Watch Cedric Hatenboer's goal against Groningen (15').
- Watch Milan Zonneveld's goal against Groningen (25').
- Watch Thom van Bergen's goal against Sparta Rotterdam (29').
- Watch Andrej Kostić's goal against Groningen (85').
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Groningen 2–3 Sparta Rotterdam. Explore more on the Groningen and Sparta Rotterdam team pages or the Eredivisie page.