After the 0-1 win against RKC Waalwijk, Mounir El Allouchi was pushed forward by his teammates in front of the away section. He received loud applause from the Willem II supporters. The midfielder from Roosendaal lost his daughter last week and that made an impression at the club. “A lot of respect for Mounir for wanting to be there today,” says striker Devin Haen.
Striker Haen was shocked when he heard about El Allouchi’s personal drama last week. “Terrible news, football is no longer important. As a selection, we wanted to support Mounir. He wanted to come to the club, but the trainer indicated that he had to choose home. I have a lot of respect for him being there today.”
During the match, both supporter groups displayed a banner for the El Allouchi family. Haen: “We saw those cloths on the field and we heard everyone applauding. It gave me goosebumps. It is impressive that they support the family throughout the Netherlands. You don’t buy anything for it, but it is nice.”
“The physios have been treating me all week.”
It was uncertain for a long time that Haen could play against RKC Waalwijk. The striker was injured in the last competition match against FC Dordrecht. “The physios have been treating me all week, even today. Yesterday I noticed on the field that things were not going well. Today it felt a lot better, although it was not how I wanted it to be. Ultimately, I participated based on character and left the field a little earlier.”
According to Haen, the 0-1 victory is an excellent starting position. “We didn’t get into any trouble, although we weren’t very dangerous ourselves. After the 0-1, we played it out maturely. We hoped for another goal, but they were all standing in front of their own sixteen.”
‘Defeat with perspective’
RKC Waalwijk coach Sander Indische calls the defeat very sad. “Goalkeeper Yanick van Osch made a great save in the second half, but otherwise we didn’t give much away. With one man less we did everything we could to maintain the 0-1 score.”
German thinks the 0-1 is a defeat with perspective. “It was a really boring match, it was not possible on both sides. I hope that we can offer the audience more on Saturday. It will be a challenge for us, but we are going to prepare well to see where we can hurt them. I just have to see how Willem II will play football, 0-1 is also a difficult result for them.”
