FC Emmen gave opponent FC Den Bosch a football masterclass on Friday evening, but could still use a lesson in effectiveness. Despite countless opportunities, the Emmen team only managed to find the net once against the low-flyer from North Brabant.
With FC Den Bosch, FC Emmen again met a low performer in the first division. But it became clear again on Monday that the hierarchy in the rankings does not guarantee a result. When they visited distant Maastricht, the people of Emmen did not get further than a 1-1 draw. There were plenty of opportunities, but there was a lack of scoring ability. The message had to be better against the people of Den Bosch.
Before the match, FC Den Bosch emphasized on its own website that FC Emmen mainly managed to win against ‘weaker opponents’ this season. That and the fact that the visitors had one of the most passed defenses in the competition must have provided the Drenthe team with the necessary motivation. FC Emmen started the match full of fire and drive to attack.
Samba in De Oude Meerdijk
Within a minute the first shot was fired on target. On a pass from Lucas Bernadou, Desley Ubbink hit the fists of Jakub Ojrzynski. It was the start of a very entertaining first half. Because where the temperatures were clearly not Brazilian, there was samba on the field. The players of FC Emmen combined wildly, to the amusement of the home crowd.
There were opportunities for Jari Vlak, Lucas Bernadou, Piotr Parzyszek and Ahmed El Messaoudi, among others. The latter in particular was a plague for the Den Bosch defense, which seemed unable to get a grip on the attacking midfielder. There was one problem: the ball just wouldn’t go in. The lack of scoring ability once again seemed to bother the people of Emmen, just like on Monday in Maastricht.
Telling goal
It was significant that FC Emmen opened the score from the penalty spot shortly before halftime. Once again El Messaoudi penetrated the enemy box, where his attempt was stopped by the hand of Gedion Zelalem. Referee Robin Hensgens did not have to hesitate long and blew his whistle. The penalty was a piece of cake for Vlak, who scored his fifth goal of the season.
After the break, FC Emmen continued in the same way. It was significant that coach Fred Grim’s team had more than 70 percent of the ball during almost the entire match and passed the ball around much more accurately than the opponent. It must be said: what FC Den Bosch showed at De Oude Meerdijk was quite poor. There was plenty of room for the Emmen team to move the ball around.
Not much to complain about
Occasionally FC Den Bosch managed to become dangerous. For example, Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand, a mercenary from the British superpower Arsenal, fired a shot at Jan Hoekstra. The FC Emmen goalkeeper dived to the corner in time. Apart from those moments, Grim had little to complain about the play shown by his team. It was not without reason that the trainer only made his first substitution ten minutes before the end.
But no matter what FC Emmen tried, the goal that could finally end the match did not come. Things weren’t going well in that regard either: substitute Ben Scholte hit the post in injury time. And so the score, especially considering the match picture, ended up being a bit poor. FC Emmen was nevertheless satisfied with it: the team is still in the race for promotion.
On Report
Hoekstra 6.5
In Wierik 6.5
Heylen 7
Dirksen 8
Burnet 7
Bernadou 8.5
Plane 8
Mendes 7
El Messaoudi 8
Ubbink 6
Parzyszek 6.5
Team performance 7
Trainer Grim 7
Arbiter Hensgens 6.5