The players of FC Groningen stood on the field with bowed heads. Despite not losing for the first time in seven games, the 1-1 draw against Go Ahead Eagles was not enough to stave off relegation. Six aspects that made the Black Sunday in Deventer even darker.
1. Basic debutant
Trainer Dennis van der Ree announced it on Friday after training. If FC Groningen is relegated, (young) players, who are expected to play a role at the club next season, will get more opportunities. It seemed as if the troubled coach immediately complied with that wish with Jorg Schreuders’ basic debut, but that had a different background.
Normally, Damil Dankerlui would be in the starting line-up of FC Groningen against Go Ahead, but the right wing defender collided with Schreuders during training on Saturday. That immediately gave the 18-year-old midfielder a starting place.
It was the first time that the Groningen player saw his name in the first eleven. Last month he made his Eredivisie debut with a short substitution against RKC Waalwijk. It was not an easy afternoon for the young midfielder in the Adelaarshorst. He had to do the honors as right back due to a lack of alternatives. Liam van Gelderen, for example, was injured.
2. Hopeful start
The game has been doom and gloom at FC Groningen for weeks, if not months. All belief in a happy ending had also long since disappeared and is no longer realistic. Nevertheless, the northerners still had a hopeful start in Deventer. The first best attack resulted in a lead in the sixth minute. Who else but Ricardo Pepi was the scorer of the goal. It was the American’s twelfth goal with the number seventeen in the premier league. A typical Pepi goal too, as he emerged like a jack from a box behind the defense of Go Ahead Eagles and worked in Oliver Antman’s cross.
3. Thomas Suslov
He’s had it for ages. The solo performance of Tomas Suslov also came to the surface against Go Ahead Eagles. The attacker tried to do everything on his own, although teammates were in better shape. As so often, it yielded no more than a few shots, mostly blanks. When he got stuck, he tried to earn a free kick with a tumble, but now almost no referee likes that anymore.
Analyst Marnix Kolder, who himself has more than five hundred professional football matches to his name, immediately recognized the behavior of the 20-year-old Slovak. ,,He is getting away during the last weeks of FC Groningen in the Eredivisie.” He hit the nail on the head. Suslov has indicated internally within the club that he wants to leave the club anyway. The Polish Lech Poznan has already shown interest, but FC Groningen is not yet planning to let Suslov go. The player signed a new, improved contract in January last year, binding him to the club until mid-2026. He sees an important role in bringing FC Groningen back to the highest level within a year.
4. Turning opportunities
The odds quickly turned in the Adelaarshorst after FC Groningen’s opening goal. Go Ahead Eagles came out dangerous a few times. Goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh made a few saves, but Willum Willumsson’s equalizer after half an hour was undeniable. The home team’s attack went over the flank of debutant Schreuders, who ended up in an impossible split because Oliver Antman was not paying attention and let his man run.
Analyst Kolder saw the almost apathetic behavior of the Finnish attacker in the counter-goal with more players from FC Groningen. ,,No one is talking, no one is coaching, I don’t see anyone moving when in possession, players are hiding. There is a total lack of communication and it radiates nothing but resignation. Such a Bech Sörensen is also a bit lost. When we fought against relegation with Go Ahead Eagles, we absolutely did not want to leave. You could see that in our game, but I don’t see any over-my-corpse mentality at FC Groningen.”
5. The future
According to Marnix Kolder, the selection of FC Groningen still needs to be worked on if the club wants to return to the highest level within a year. ,,You can’t win the war in the first division with many of the current players”, says the analyst, who can boast years of experience at the second highest level. “In the first division, very different football is required. Then you really need a few guys who know what is being asked. I don’t see that at FC Groningen now. You will really have to buy into that, otherwise it is certainly not a foregone conclusion that you will just return to the premier league. I do have faith in Dick Lukkien. He knows exactly what is needed and will ensure that the right players are brought in.”
6. Degradation
A quarter of a century after the last relegation, the curtain fell for FC Groningen in Deventer. A Black Sunday. Marnix Kolder, as an expert by experience, sympathized with the players. The former striker himself was once relegated with Go Ahead Eagles.
“It is terrible when you are relegated. For the players themselves, but also for the entire club, for the entire organization. The supporters who have to go to De Toekomst next season to see their club in action against Jong Ajax, but also against Telstar, from Dordrecht. There will be cuts in the workforce. Sometimes that is good, but in general it is of course a drama. At the same time, you have to determine that it is right that you fly out when you are seventeen. As FC Groningen you didn’t enforce enough, you didn’t have enough quality and you weren’t enough of a team. Then you have no right to speak.”