Amateur side Excelsior ’31 pulled off one of the early upsets of the 2026/27 Dutch Cup on Tuesday, eliminating ADO Den Haag from the Eurojackpot KNVB Beker after a dramatic penalty shootout in Rijssen. Separately, copper thieves hit the De Geusselt Stadium in Maastricht, damaging that facility ahead of MVV’s home match in the tournament.

The third-tier side held ADO, a club playing in the Eredivisie, to a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes before winning the shootout 6-5 at Sportpark De Koerbelt. Goalkeeper Kevin Reimink was the hero, saving two penalties before ADO captain Sékou Sylla missed the decisive kick. Around 3,100 spectators watched the match at a sold-out ground.

Excelsior ’31 took the lead from a corner in the 47th minute. Finn de Bruin inadvertently helped the ball on, and defender Mika Schrijver headed it into the net. The goal sparked huge celebrations among the home supporters.

ADO equalized in the 57th minute. Nigel Thomas levelled the score. He created room for himself and struck towards goal; the shot took a deflection and ended up in the far corner.

The shootout was particularly dramatic because Excelsior ’31 missed its first attempt, with Alex de Jong shooting wide, before Reimink saved Daryl Van Mieghem’s penalty to restore the balance. Reimink then denied Juho Kilo, giving the home side another lifeline after Mika Schrijver missed. From there, the teams converted their penalties until Tom Koelman scored to make it 6-5

Sylla had to score to keep ADO in the competition, but sent his attempt wide. Excelsior ’31's players and supporters flooded the pitch to celebrate a memorable cup upset.

Another game in the Dutch cup could be at risk due to copper thieves. “Virtually all the cables and pipes have been cut,” MVV said after thieves broke into MVV Maastricht's De Geusselt stadium last night, cutting and stealing copper cables and damaging fibre-optic cables. The damage could affect the club's LED advertising boards during Thursday's cup match against Excelsior Rotterdam. MVV has filed a police report.

“This once again shows just how vulnerable the stadium is. We are doing everything we can to restore essential connections as quickly as possible, so that visitors are affected as little as possible by this theft,” MVV said.