Doom and gloom in The Hague for FC Emmen: Kieftenbeld’s return cannot prevent sixth defeat in a row

It was visibly a bit of a search at the start of the match between FC Emmen and ADO Den Haag, but after about 20 minutes there was Henk Veerman. Who else, you could also say. The tall Volendammer with his recognizable wooden walk received the ball from a cross that changed direction at his feet, deftly turned around his axis and delivered a devastating blow. The goal led to a hopeless defeat for FC Emmen.

And while the Drenthe team had traveled to The Hague to stop the free fall in the rankings. While there was still a battle for the top position at the beginning of December, the FC found itself in tenth place after five defeats in a row. A win over ADO was not an easy task in advance. The number three of the first division lost 2-1 at VVV-Venlo last Monday, but achieved a series of three victories in a row.

Experience in the ashes

In an attempt to silence De Ooievaars, Fred Grim decided to provide the axis of his team with much-needed experience. Maikel Kieftenbeld returned to midfield after seventeen competition matches. The experienced player was first choice in the first games of the season, but was no longer included in his trainer’s plans after his red card against FC Dordrecht. The Overijsselaar had to make do with just (short) raids.

But even with Kieftenbeld, FC Emmen was unable to turn the tide. Although the midfielder himself played well, the Grim team as a whole played far too slowly. The ball did not move quickly enough and there were too many careless losses of ball. From an offensive point of view, the FC was quite powerless. ADO goalie Nick Marsman, until recently Lionel Messi’s proud teammate at the American Inter Miami, was hardly tested in the Bingoal Stadium.

On the other side of the field, fellow goalkeeper Jan Hoekstra was considerably busier. It was therefore little surprise that the Eextervener was passed again barely twenty minutes after the opening goal. Teammate Jorrit Smeets, in midfield in a duo with Kieftenbeld, was very easily fooled by Justin Ché, who then delivered a pinpoint cross to Lasse Vigen Christensen. The Dane controlled the ball against the ropes.

Negative spiral continues

Grim tried to shake things up in the second half with a number of substitutions. In vain, because the relations before the break largely remained intact. With the exception of a long shot by Kieftenbeld, which went well wide, the Drenthe hardly came close to scoring. A painful observation. It was that the home team was careless with the many opportunities it had, otherwise the score could have been much higher.

Yet they could not avoid a final agreement in The Hague. After yet another outbreak, the men of coach Darije Kalezic were successful shortly before the end. Jort van der Sande rushed off with the ball over the left flank, could not be stopped by the FC Emmen defenders, cut inside and pulled the trigger: 3-0. The resignation of the Emmen residents was telling, who were called to account after the match by disappointed away fans.

FC Emmen, with its sixth defeat in a row, failed to break the negative spiral in The Hague for almost two months. If the team does not pay attention, even reaching the play-offs will be a difficult task for Grim and his team. In that respect, it is hoped that Faris Hammouti and Vicente Besuijen, presented this week as much-needed reinforcements, will provide the team with the necessary creativity and energy in the short term.