After three straight wins in the league, Vitesse was brought back down to earth by a sobering 1-0 loss to Excelsior. It was a defeat De Gelderlander labeled "humiliating": a Dutch Cup finalist with ambitions of playing European competition next season, beaten by a team trying to stay clear of relegation.
Vitesse head coach Henk Fraser lamented that his side "had no chance", and appeared so out-matched he asked his players if he'd overlooked something tactically that might explain the lackluster showing. (They told him he had not.)
Worse than the loss, perhaps, for Vitesse: a last-minute yellow card means Ricky van Wolfswinkel will be suspended for the team's next game, against title-chasing Feyenoord.