Helpman loses expensive points against Zuidlaren in the nerve-wracking 3C title battle

Helpman has decided to continue next season with only performance football on Saturdays. According to chairman Jan van der Lei, the club had no choice. “Many players from the Sunday team quit or play lower. The remaining players from Sunday will now switch to Saturday and the basis will therefore consist of a combination of Saturday 1 and Sunday 1. That will be a nice challenge.”

The question is in which class Helpman will compete next season. There are three scenarios. If second division Helpman is promoted on Sunday, the club will be allowed to play in the first division on Saturday next season. If Helpman is promoted on Saturday and no promotion of the Sunday branch, Helpman will play in the second division. And if both teams do not promote, Helpman will simply have to start in the third division. The latter because the period for switching horizontally had already expired.

Ranking

Promotion of the Saturday team seemed only a matter of time before the winter break, but a serious dip just before and immediately after the winter break (1 meager point from 5 matches) brought all competitors closer again. Thanks to the draw against Zuidlaren, Groen Geel has now come alongside at the top of the rankings. Lycurgus and Loppersum are one point behind. Three teams, including Zuidlaren, follow on four points. So it is very exciting in the third class C.

There was little to enjoy on the Esserberg in the flat first half. Zuidlaren rarely showed up in front of Helpman’s goal and the home team did not do enough with the chances it got. For example, both Saviero van Zwol and captain Tim van Dorp were careless in finishing twice.

Expensive miss

After the restart, the game was messy, but much more fun, especially because Zuidlaren asserted themselves a bit more. After ten minutes the first big chance was for the guests. After sloppy defending from Helpman, Robbin Markus delivered a measured cross to Mart Kral, but the young attacker, to his own horror, pushed the ball over the goal at the far post. An expensive miss, because in the subsequent counterattack Van Dorp decisively headed in a cross from Jeroen Scholma: 1-0.

Helpman did not exactly gain confidence from the lead, played increasingly sloppily and was presented with the bill fifteen minutes before the end. Two substitutes at Zuidlaren were responsible for the equalizer. Lucas Darwinkel, only sixteen, played well on the back line and his cross was tapped in from close range by Robin Wolters: 1-1.

‘Lead did not create confidence’

Both teams tried to take the full win in the final phase, but the breakthrough Helpernees Wouter van der Graaf saw his attempt fail against Zuidlaren goalie Nick van Leeuwen and for the visitors, good-old Jos Lamain nodded a free kick wide of the goal.

Helpman trainer Ommar Jager, who was also appointed by the board to manage the upcoming merger of Sunday and Saturday, was not satisfied. “The lead did not create confidence, it actually became more restless. We started doing things when we had the ball that we shouldn’t do at all. We had a bad series, partly due to injuries, but the title remains the goal. It would be great if we could start in the second division with the new team.”