Cruel end to heroic cup fairy tale Hercules: amateurs lose in 121st minute against Cambuur | Dutch football

After the victory over the Amsterdam team, Hercules had a feeling of invincibility. Trainer René van der Kooij already announced that if Ajax could win, that trick could be repeated against Cambuur.

Most of the players at Sportpark Zoudenbalch had not yet touched the ball after Van der Kooij’s words, or it was already in the goal of Cambuur goalkeeper Yanick van Osch. After just over a minute of play, Jordi Paulina received a push from Cambuur captain Daniël van Kaam in the penalty area. Referee Richard Martens was right on top of it and pointed resolutely to the spot. That opportunity was well spent on Oussama Lahri: 1-0.

That dream start brought out a touch of bravado in the Hercules team, just like a round earlier against Ajax. Tim Pieters, who was often described as ‘Ajax executioner’ due to his two goals against the Amsterdam team, played his direct opponent Marco Tol through the legs with a beautiful passing action, to the delight of the crowd. It was indicative of the way the home team presented itself in this eighth final.

Due to Hercules’ brutal play, trainer Henk de Jong arrived early on the sidelines of the Utrecht field to get his Cambuur, who scores so easily in the Kitchen Champion Division, up and running. This resulted in a huge opportunity for Van Kaam after 22 minutes, but the midfielder shot high from close range. A few minutes later, Cambuur had another chance, but Christiaan van Hussen stood in the way on the goal line.

The fact that the 0-1 score was still on the board after forty minutes was reason enough for De Jong to intervene before half time. The coach sent a strong signal with a double substitution in the fortieth minute.

After the break, Cambuur chased a quick goal, but only managed to create danger in Hercules’ sixteen-meter area. The Leeuwarden team came somewhat close to the goal via the head of striker Roberts Uldrikis, but this did not lead to a really big chance for a long time.

On the other hand, Hercules’ 2-0 came almost out of nowhere. Lahri, who also scored the first Utrecht goal early in the first half, shot his second of the evening against the ropes with a wonderful bicycle kick.

This seemed like the match was in the bag for Hercules, but nothing could be further from the truth. A revival by Cambuur, about ten minutes before the end of the match, resulted in two goals in two minutes from Milan Smit and Matthias Nartey. In the crazy final phase that followed, Uldrikis headed onto the post on behalf of Cambuur and Hercules also hit the aluminum twice. There were no more goals scored in regular playing time.

There was no chance of catching their breath in Utrecht, as early in extra time Cambuur seemed to complete the comeback against Hercules with a goal from Milan Smit. But this time it was Hercules who proved to have fighting spirit. Within a few minutes the score was leveled again by Mitchell Zwart.

The match seemed to be settled with a penalty shootout, but Michael Breij thought differently. The Cambuur midfielder shattered Hercules’ cup dream with a striking bang in the 121st minute and, after a spectacular football fight with his team, can prepare for the meeting with Vitesse in the quarter-finals of the TOTO KNVB Cup.