Match in Focus: Who caught the eye in Heracles v PEC Zwolle?
Craig Bradley watched Heracles versus PEC Zwolle with a view to highlighting players of interest from an EFL recruitment perspective
Match Details
Heracles 4 v 2 PEC Zwolle
Competition: Eredivisie (Band 2)
Date: 02.03.2025
Venue: Asito Stadion
Story of the match
This was a match that had a bearing at the bottom of the Eredivisie table, with both team’s in a battle to avoid dropping into the relegation playoff spot. Yet, it wasn’t a nervy encounter. What transpired was a topsy-turvy, goal heavy game of lead changes that saw Heracles win 4-2 after a strong second half performance.
The drama filled match began with incident right from the get-go when inside the 3rd minute PEC Zwolle left back Damien van der Haar was sent off for dragging down Heracles’ right-sided winger Juho Talvite inside the penalty area after Talvite had ran onto a perfectly directed long ball over the top by Goalkeeper Fabian de Keijzer. After a lengthy VAR interruption the referee downgraded van der Haar’s red card to a yellow card. The penalty was taken a full five minutes after it’s awarding and slotted home by captain Brian De Keersmaecker with PEC Zwolle keeper Jasper Schendelaar diving the wrong way.
Within seconds of the restart PEC Zwolle were back level. A hopeful punt forward from kickoff led to the flight of the ball being misjudged by De Keersmaecker and the bounce of the ball being misjudged by right-sided centre back Damon Mirani allowing PEC Zwolle forward Dylan Vente to slot past de Keijzer with a low left footed shot to make the game 1-1.
The next opportunity of note came just before the half hour mark when tall Heracles midfielder Sem Scheperman directed a header wide from point blank range from an inswinging corner. Within a couple of minutes of Scheperman’s miss Heracles were punished with PEZ Zwolle taking the lead in the game. Left footed centre back Anslemo Garcia MacNulty stretched his long frame out to direct a volley into the top corner from an inswinging free kick from halfway inside Heracles’ half on the right central area of the pitch.
In the 40th minute Heracles’ left-sided centre back Ivan Mesik was yellow carded. Mesik found himself out on the flank and up against PEC Zwolle right winger Dylan Mbayo and after being outskilled by his opponent committed a cynical trip.
Heracles increased the pressure on PEC Zwolle as the first half approached its conclusion and were rewarded with an equaliser before half-time with experienced attacking midfielder Thomas Bruns smashing home a rebound for short range after a goalkeeper parry.
Half-time: HERACLES 2-2 PEC ZWOLLE
PEC Zwolle made a double substitution at the interval, replacing both full backs. Sherel Floranus took over from Olivier Aertssen on the right and Thierry Lutonda took the place of Damien van der Haar on the left.
Heracles retook the lead ten minutes into the second half with a well worked goal that started with a big switch from right to left that found left back Mats Rots galloping forward. An exchange of passes between Rots and Scheperman got the teenager Rots into an advanced area and he drilled the ball across the face of goal where Talvitie was at the far post to score into an unguarded net.
Following the goal Talvitie was immediately substituted for Mario Engels. Engels came on at left wing with Suf Podgoreanu moving into Talvitie’s position on the right. Engels’s introduction was impactful and with a couple of minutes another well worked move found him 1v1 versus Floranus. Engels shifted the ball enough to give himself space for a pinpoint cross that found Jizz Hornkamp in the centre of the six-yard box for a free header that made the scoreline 4-2.
In the 65th minute Heracles were unlucky to not go 5-2 up when a crisp right foot long range volley from De Keersmaecher came back off the post.
Heracles were impressive with how they saw out the remainder of the game, keeping control of possession and preventing PEC Zwolle from even having a shot at goal. They were fully deserving of their victory with the scoreline a fair reflection of the game.
Full-time: HERACLES 4-2 PEC ZWOLLE
HERACLES
MANAGER - ERWIN VAN DE LOOI
BASE FORMATION - 4-2-3-1
PEC ZWOLLE
MANAGER - JOHNNY JANSEN
BASE FORMATION - 4-2-3-1
Players to take from the match
Mats Rots
Heracles left back Mats Rots had an eye-catching appearance. Rots is just 18 and only recently joined Heracles in January, on loan from Twente where he is contracted until 2027. He is in the infancy of his career and has yet to pass 1,000 senior minutes. It is unlikely that Twente would consider a sale of Rots but he is worthy of highlighting. Rots isn’t the finished article. He displayed some inconsistency in his passing quality and at times looked uncomfortable when 1v1 defending.
However, Rots’ positives were evident. He is tall for a full back at around 6’2 and looks like he is already filling out into his frame nicely. He is athletic and has a strong running style combined of pace and a long stride pattern. Rots was comfortable in possession and positive in his actions. He was able to impact play in an attacking sense and showed that he could both get high and wide down the flank as well as invert into central midfield. Rots has featured regularly for the Netherlands at youth level and it appears that he’ll have a future at a high level.
Brian De Keersmaecker
Heracles captain Brian De Keersmaecker was the most impressive player on the pitch. De Keersmaecker played on the right-hand side of a midfield double pivot with the position suiting him perfectly. De Keersmaecker is a great all-rounder. The Belgian displayed terrier-like qualities out of possession, getting around opponents quickly and snapping at their heels. He broke up play by way of tackles and interceptions on multiple occasions. On the ball De Keersmaecker was assured and displayed a large passing range, looking adept at short, sharp passes, showcasing an ability for a long, raking diagonal pass and progressive passes into the final third. His ball striking was clean and consistent - he was unlucky with a long range volley that hit the post in the second half. De Keersmaecker showed a steely resolve when having to wait close to five minutes to take the game’s early penalty after a VAR delay. De Keersmaecker is 24-years-old but plays with the maturity and leadership of an experienced veteran. He is contracted until 2028 and it would likely take a considerable fee for Heracles to sell but he looks like he could upgrade many a Championship midfield.
Sem Scheperman
De Keersmaecker's midfield partner Sem Scheperman also caught the eye. Scheperman is taller and more wiry than De Keersmaecker in terms of frame but possesses many of the same qualities. He is an all rounder who mixes ball-winning and tenacity with on-the-ball craft. Scheperman isn’t as aesthetically pleasing as De Keersmarcker but he is only contracted until the end of this season, although Heracles do hold a one-year extension option. He is a player to be considered for lower budget Championship clubs.
Juho Talvitie
Despite playing only an hour, Juho Talvitie is very worthy of a mention. The left-footed right winger had a part in the first three Heracles goals. It was Talvitie that was hauled down for the game’s early penalty, as well as Talvitie’s header across goal that the PEC Zwolle ‘keeper weakly parried for the Heracles equaliser. Also, it was Talvitie that scored the goal to make the game 3-2.
Talvitie displayed a direct, attacking nature and looked to affect play positively when he was on the ball. When giving away possession, Talvitie reacted in an ultra-positive manner and was relentless in tracking back and trying to correct his mistakes. He is 19-years-old and on a season-long loan at Heracles from Lommel who are currently 13th in the Belgian second tier - based on this game I would consider Talvitie to have potential above that level. He is contracted at Lommel until 2028.
PEC Zwolle struggled to impress in the match. Anselmo Garcia MacNulty handled Jizz Hornkamp well in build up play and looked composed in possession but his penalty box defending was weak and Hornkamp easily lost him with rudimental movement ahead of Heracles’ 4th goal.
Midfielders Anouar El Azzouzi and Davy van den Berg showed glimpses of a nice partnership but were ultimately swamped by the impressive De Keersmaecker and Scheperman.
Their two wingers Dylan Mbayo (on loan from Kortrijk with a buy option) and Filip Krastev (like Talvitie of Heracles, on loan from Lommel) displayed moments of individual skill but moves often broke down with their inability to maintain possession.
PEC Zwolle were unable to get striker Dylan Vente into the game but on the one occasion he found himself free in the penalty area he displayed great predatory instincts to score with a left-footed finish across the goalkeeper.
Vente is on loan from Hibernian where he is contracted until 2026 - since returning from Dutch football’s winter break he has scored seven goals in seven matches. He could be a player of interest to high ranking League One clubs in the summer depending on Hibernian’s plans for him.
Player Visualisation
Despite Craig preferring BdK in the match watched Scheperman has outstanding data. Here is his GBE Expert Hub player page.
