Oude Meerdijk breathes a sigh of relief: FC Emmen finally knows what winning is again

For nine consecutive competition matches, FC Emmen did not leave the field as winners. Against SC Cambuur, Fred Grim’s team made every effort not to complete the ten. To prevent that annoying statistic, the trainer once again cut into his team. Passing striker Piotr Parzyszek, who lost his place to Joey Konings against Roda JC (3-2 loss), was not enough to turn the tide.

Jan Hoekstra was the youngest victim on Friday evening in FC Emmen coach Fred Grim’s search for points. The closing post, who has blundered several times this season and was partly responsible for his team’s loss in the final phase against Roda JC last week, made way for Eric Oelschlägel on Friday evening against SC Cambuur.

Basic location Scholte

Hoekstra was not the only player who applied for a place outside the starting eleven. Desley Ubbink has been in hopeless form in recent weeks, but was allowed to appear against SC Cambuur due to an injury to Chardi Landu. This meant that a starting place was also reserved for Ben Scholte, who came on as a creditable substitute against Roda JC.

It was Scholte who was able to give his team the lead on Friday evening after four minutes of play, but the attacking midfielder tapped the ball wide of the Frisian goal from a delicate cross from Vicente Besuijen.

Unique goal Kieftenbeld

A few minutes later it happened. Captain Maikel Kieftenbeld, who could count on little playing time from Grim for a long time this season, beautifully rammed the ball into the goal from a great distance via the inside of the post. It was the midfielder’s first goal since he scored for Birmingham City against Preston North End on December 1, 2018.

‘Kieft’s goal left us wanting more, because barely ten minutes after his goal he stole the ball from Cambuur, but this time his effort went just wide of the post. In between, Mike te Wierik – who found the net again last week in Kerkrade after a four-year drought – saw a header taken off the goal line.

Only salvation Oelschlägel

Cambuur, on the other hand, hardly became dangerous. Halfway through the first half, Oelschlägel made his only save of the match. The keeper turned away Milan Smit’s shot with relative ease – a bet that also did not cause Hoekstra any problems.

Cambuur brought more energy in the second half, but apart from a few pinpricks, FC Emmen did not falter. It was the Drenthe who doubled the score fifteen minutes before the end. A cross from the recently substituted Patrick Brouwer ended up with some fortune (although Bradly van Hoeven appeared as if he deliberately extended the cross) on the head of Joey Konings.

Sigh of relief

FC Emmen was spared a crazy final phase, like last week in Kerkrade. The Drenthe players, where the tall Maarten Pouwels made his debut, calmly finished the match. After months of sadness, the people of Emmen finally left the field with a smile. De Oude Meerdijk breathed a sigh of relief after the final whistle.