Go Ahead Eagles won a Dutch Cup final that revolved around penalties as goalkeeper Jari de Busser twice denied AZ Alkmaar in the decisive shoot-out.

Coach Paul Simonis admitted his team had ridden their luck before coming back with an equaliser from the spot just before the end of normal time, but said the club’s first major trophy was a reward for their season’s efforts.

“We were dead and buried, but I’d brought on three strikers to try to create an overload, and it paid off,” he said. Simonis singled out his goalkeeper De Busser for special praise: “He won the match for us.”

AZ had come within minutes of winning the match in 90 minutes after Troy Parrott scored from the spot early in the second half, but only after being given a reprieve by referee Danny Makkelie.

The Irishman hit a tame effort straight at De Busser, after Go Ahead’s Joris Kramer had been penalised for catching Ernest Poku with his foot as he attempted to clear the ball.

But the VAR panel spotted Mathis Suray had run into the area a fraction too soon and Parrott made no mistake with the retake, striking the ball low and hard into the same corner as De Busser guessed the wrong way.

Antman’s big chance

Parrott made way shortly afterwards after taking a knock in the 60th minute, having had the best chance of the first half when his curling shot towards the top corner was denied by the fingertips of De Busser and the post.

Having been outclassed for much of the first hour, Go Ahead improved once they were forced onto the offensive, with Oliver Antman coming close with a shot that grazed the outside of the post.

Substitute Søren Tengstedt then missed an open goal from a difficult angle after Victor Edvardsen had beaten AZ goalkeeper Rome-Jayden Owusu-Odoru to the ball.

But with nine minutes of injury time almost at an end, Go Ahead were handed a lifeline when Makkelie awarded a second penalty for a handball by Peer Koopmeiners. The defender protested he had raised his arms after being pulled off balance, but the referee stood firm and captain Mats Deijl equalised from the spot.

AZ denied

Milan Smit almost snatched the cup for Go Ahead in the last minute of injury time when he dragged a shot just wide of the post, while Makkelie waved away AZ’s claims for a second penalty in the dying seconds as Mexx Meerdinck’s shot was deflected behind.

Both teams scored their first three kicks in the shoot-out, before De Busser saved from Zico Buurmeester and then, after Smit had given Go Ahead the advantage, dived low to shut out Mayckel Lahdo.

Julius Dirksen, who had come on as a substitute a minute after the clock ticked past two hours, then beat Owusu-Odoru with his first kick of the ball to win the shoot-out 4-2 and send the fans from Deventer into raptures.

The win also earns Go Ahead a place in the qualifying rounds of next year’s Europa League, while AZ, who are sixth in the Eredivisie, will have to hope they can qualify for the Conference League through the end-of-season play-offs.