Thomas scores twice in Dutch Cup final victory

Monday, 21 April 2014

TALENTED TEEN: Ryan Thomas skins a Team Wellington defender during his Waikato FC days.

Young All Whites midfielder Ryan Thomas proved a sensational match-winner as he scored twice for PEC Zwolle in their upset Dutch Cup final victory this morning.

The 19-year-old turned around an early 1-0 deficit against legendary Dutch side Ajax with two quick strikes to give his side a 2-1 lead, and they went on to stun the favourites with a 5-1 triumph to capture the Cup for the first time in the club's history.

Ajax, recently crowned Eredivisie champions, started well as Ricardo van Rhijn opened the scoring in the fifth minute before the match was halted due to flares thrown onto the pitch.

When play resumed 30 minutes later, Thomas - who made his All Whites debut against Japan in March - scored twice in four minutes to turn the match on its head.

Guyon Fernandez added to goals of his own to extend the lead to 4-1 at the break before Bram van Polen added Zwolle's fifth early in the second half.

Zwolle, currently in ninth place in the league competition with two games remaining, will play in the UEFA Europa League in 2014-15.

Te Puke's Thomas, who made his debut at senior level as a 16-year-old for Melville United and played in the ASB Premiership for Waikato FC, tweeted his delight after the game.

'Yes boys, what a game!! Loved every minute of it! Time to party!!!!! #champions #5-1 #happydays' he wrote.