Twente stymied by resilient Excelsior as woodwork and van Gassel deny hosts | OneFootball

FC Twente and Excelsior drew 0-0 in Enschede, with the point lifting the visitors from 14th to 13th in the Eredivisie.

In the ninth minute, Mats Rots struck the right post after Sondre Ørjasæter led a rapid break. Ricky van Wolfswinkel then forced Stijn van Gassel into a smart save, and Ørjasæter hit the frame again later in the half as Twente piled on early pressure.

Before the interval, Przemyslaw Tyton kept the tie level, tipping Mike Van Duinen's header over in the second minute of first half stoppage time after Gyan de Regt's cross.

After the restart, Excelsior threatened on the counter, with Nolan Martens shooting narrowly wide and Ørjasæter missing a presentable opening at the other end. John van den Brom shuffled his pack just before the hour, introducing Sam Lammers and Marko Pjaca to chase a breakthrough.

Late on, Lennard Hartjes headed off target from close range and Noah Naujoks dragged a chance wide as the visitors held their line. Van Duinen was forced off injured in the closing stages, with Jerolldino Bergraaf coming on.

Twente dominated the ball at 65.1% and delivered 11 corners but could not find a way past van Gassel, registering three shots on target from 14 attempts. Excelsior mustered eight attempts and one on target, while making 35 clearances to secure the clean sheet.

Twente remain sixth. Next, they visit NAC Breda in the league. Excelsior host Ajax next.