FC Twente were victorious in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday, defeating Swiss side FC Thun 1-0 thanks to a goal from Ramiz Zerrouki. Twente played the last half hour of the game against 10 men after the visitors received a controversial sending-off.

Despite the tight scoreline, it was a dominant victory for John van den Brom’s side. The Tukkers recorded 55 touchers in Thun’s penalty area. Their highest tally in any major European game on record.

Van den Brom was able to once again call on his winger Sondre Ørjasaeter. The Norwegian had missed his side’s 1-1 draw with Fortuna Sittard last weekend due to illness.

Ørjasaeter showed his manager what he had been missing last weekend in the ninth minute with a great chipped pass to put Younes Taha on goal, but his effort did not find the net.

Twente thought they had broken the deadlock in the 24th minute when Daouda Weidmann put the ball in the net, but it was disallowed after a VAR review due to a foul by the Frenchman prior to receiving the ball.

The home side were dominant in the Grolsch Veste but were failing to convert the opportunities. Another such chance occurred before halftime when Daan Rots played an outside-the-foot pass to Taha, who in turn found Wout Weghorst in front of goal. The Oranje international did well to get in front of his man, but his effort went wide.

Then came the moment that changed the game. Referee Genc Nuza awarded a foul against Zerrouki before being called to the screen. This led to everyone thinking he was checking for a potential red card for the Algerian. Nuza returned and brandished the red, only to then show it to Patrik Kristel. Replays showed that the full back had slightly and perhaps innocuously stood on Zerrouki’s leg.

This proved even more costly for Thun as Zerrouki, of all people, broke the deadlock four minutes later. Weidmann played a deft back heel towards his teammate and Zerrouki did the rest, placing the ball low into the far corner.

It was a comfortable end to the game for Twente, who came a lot closer to getting a second goal than Thun were to getting an equalizer.

Van den Brom’s side will face FC Utrecht at home on Sunday evening before traveling to Gibraltar to play against Lincoln Red Imps.