Keeper blunder sends PEC through to Dutch Cup final

Veteran goalkeeper Dennis Gentenaar allowed a long-range shot from Maikel van der Werff in the 81st minute to slip through his fingers and send the home team through to their second ever appearance in a Cup final.

They will play Ajax Amsterdam or holders AZ Alkmaar, who meet in the semi-finals on Thursday, in the final in Rotterdam on April 20.

Jesper Drost gave PEC the lead at the end of a swift attack in the 29th minute but Danish import Kevin Conboy equalised for struggling NEC from a free kick 10 minutes later.

PEC lost their only previous cup final appearance in 1977 when they were beaten in extra time by Twente Enschede.

(Reporting by Mark Gleeson,; Editing by Ed Osmond; [e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]; To sign up for our Global Sports Forum chatroom, click on https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/global_sports_forum)