FOOTBALL – The party atmosphere was certainly there, but also somewhat depressed. The FC Emmen players and the fanatical supporters of the Drenthe club did celebrate the victory over Jong Ajax, but at the same time Mart Lieder was wheeled off the field on a stretcher. “That puts a big damper on this evening”, Dick Lukkien said aptly.
With Lieder and also Rui Mendes, the coach of the Drenthe club had used the weapons that Emmen needed to beat Jong Ajax. Until the break, the home club had absolutely no control over the youngsters from Amsterdam. “With Mart and also Rui (Mendes), we forced Ajax to build up via the backs, so that we could force them to make difficult choices. In the switch we therefore had much more room to create danger.”
“We recovered very well from behind, only we couldn’t hold on to that game and we needed – to be honest we have to be – an excellent goalkeeper to get us through.”