Amateur football club Quick Boys came within a whisker of a famous upset in the Dutch Cup before losing on penalties to AZ Alkmaar.

The Katwijk club took the lead after an hour when Nigel Nwankwo took advantage of some slack defending before slotting home.

AZ responded quickly, scoring twice in three minutes, but in the seventh minute of injury time substitute Leonard de Beste headed in a corner.

The Alkmaar side, fourth in the Eredivisie, went ahead again in extra time through Myron van Brederode’s calm finish.

But after AZ had had a fourth goal cancelled out by a VAR review, Quick Boys levelled again when Sem van Duijn capitalised on a blunder by Alexandre Penetra.

An upset looked on the cards when Paul van der Helm saved AZ’s first penalty, but Bram Franken and Levi van Duin missed the target for Quick Boys, allowing AZ to win the shoot-out 4-2.

Another Eredivisie side, Excelsior, went out to second-tier side Groningen, while ADO Den Haag avoided an upset against the amateurs of Excelsior Maassluis.

On Wednesday PSV take on Twente Enschede in a delayed second-round tie, with the winners facing a trip to Feyenoord in the last 16 in a week’s time.

Hercules, who beat Ajax in the second round before Christmas, are at home to Cambuur Leeuwarden, while another amateur club, Amsterdamsche, will fancy their chances against the Eredivisie’s 17th-placed side, Vitesse Arnhem.