NEC Nijmegen faced off against SBV Excelsior on August 13, 2023, delivering a thrilling seven-goal match that eventually ended 3-4 in favor of Excelsior. The fixture, as part of the Eredivisie, proved a closely contested game, with statistics providing a deeper insight into the key game-winning factors.

Despite Nijmegen opening the scoring later in the first half after conceding an early goal, it wasn't enough to maintain hold of the victory. The intricate balance between the two teams is reflected in the fact that each team was flagged for offside only once throughout the match, indicative of fine offensive positioning. Each side was effectively exposing gaps without infringing on the line of defense.

Although Nijmegen managed to net three goals, they fell short in a critical area—corner kicks. The team had only two compared to Excelsior's seven, indicating a possible lack of attacking pressure. As such, they failed to create as many goal-scoring opportunities from set pieces, which could potentially have tipped the balance in their favor.

Looking at the disciplinary records, elements of frustration are evident from both sides, but more so from Excelsior who collected two yellow cards against Nijmegen's one. This could suggest a struggle to cope with the intensity of the match at certain periods but crucially, it stopped at yellow warnings, which helped Excelsior’s cause.

Adding to the analysis, fouls committed by Excelsior outnumbered those of Nijmegen by 5 to 3, indicating perhaps a more aggressive and high-press stance from them. This not only disrupted Nijmegen's flow of play extensively but also played a pivotal role in the aggressive contest for possession.

Though the home team, Nijmegen couldn’t capitalize on the advantage, with their scoring attempts falling short of Excelsior's late surge. Excelsior’s deciding goals came through the latter stages of the second half indicating their perseverance and ability to maintain attacking pressure till the final minutes.

Conclusively, based on the dataset provided, the numbers indicate that the match was more balanced than the 3-4 scoreline suggests. Excelsior took advantage of the opportunities they had, capitalized on their set pieces, and remained resilient till the final whistle, eventually clinching the victory. This match indeed serves as a lesson on maintaining aggressive pressure, exploiting corner kick opportunities and late-game resilience—all factors that substantially influenced the thrilling outcome.

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