FOOTBALL – The championship bowl could again be taken to Zeist in the trunk of the car of KNVB director Marianne van Leeuwen, because although FC Emmen won against Roda JC (2-0), the first championship in club history did not come. The only remaining competitor, FC Volendam, also won, leaving the gap to six points with two games left.
It was still tense in De Oude Meerdijk, because due to a temporary strike by FC Den Bosch – FC Volendam, the Drenthe club and its supporters had to wait a little longer until the final signal sounded in Brabant.
FC Emmen had a strong opening phase against the guests from Limburg, which resulted in an early lead. Jari Vlak captured the ball in midfield, pushed through and gave Jasin-Amin Assehnoun an unmissable opportunity. The Finn simply hit the spot: 1-0.
After that Emmen could have quickly lifted the score to 2-0 and perhaps 3-0, but Reda Kharchouch (2x), Rui Mendes and Lorenzo Burnet did not score.
The guests did not object. With ten minutes left in the first half, captain Richard Jensen even pulled the emergency brake when Reda Kharchouch was only allowed to approach Roda goalkeeper Rody De Boer. The captain was rightly shown red by referee Van Boekel.
The second half was not very exciting. Roda JC tried, but was unable to break the offensive. The Limburgers got one big chance in the person of Dylan Vente. The striker in form, however, killed that chance, partly due to the good performance of FC Emmen ball catcher Michael Brouwer.