Attackers led FC Utrecht to first pre-season win against PEC Zwolle
Utrecht's first unofficial win under Anthony Correia; Artem Stepanov and David Min settled against PEC Zwolle.
FC Utrecht recorded their first unofficial win under coach Anthony Correia on Friday, beating PEC Zwolle in a pre-season match. The attackers carried it for Utrecht, who also bounced back from its first loss of the pre-season (1-2 against De Graafschap).
Utrecht played with Correia's system with three central defenders, and some expected first-teamers such as Vasilios Barkas, Dani de Wit, Ángel Alarcón, and Yoann Cathline started. The team took an early lead through Artem Stepanov's goal.
<figure style="margin:2rem 0;overflow:hidden;border:1px solid #e2e2e2;background:#f9f9f9"><img src="https://webp.vi.cdn.pxr.nl/news/2026/07/03/1b104986dd40edb6f2ff1abd1cf20dc33aba9241.jpg?width=1200" alt="Image" style="width:100%;height:auto;object-fit:contain" loading="lazy" /></figure>For PEC Zwolle—who competed for the first time this preparation—the club used two mixed rosters of veteran and youth players. One of the youngsters, 18-year-old Gilles van der Wal, scored the equalizer in the first half.
Midway through the second half, Utrecht earned a penalty and David Min missed from the penalty spot for the winning goal. In the end, Utrecht held on strongly to seal a first win under Correia this pre-season.
