Ede Staals ‘t it has never been so dark west blasted out of the speakers on Sunday afternoon after the 0-2 defeat that FC Groningen suffered against SC Heerenveen, but whether it will be light again in Euroborg this season? The relegation battle of the northerners reached new lows. The Derby of the North in seven parts.
1. Bombshell
An hour and a half before the kick-off of the Derby of the North, a bomb exploded in Euroborg. An explosive that was expertly placed by FC Emmen. At least, that was the reading of the furious FC Groningen director Wouter Gudde.
From the offices in Southeast Drenthe, the news that Dick Lukkien will be the new trainer in the green cathedral next season would have been deliberately leaked prematurely to the FC Emmen watcher of Football International . The presentation of the Veendammer practice master was officially scheduled for Monday. By leaking the news, the Drents, direct competitors in the fight against relegation, would have deliberately wanted to cause confusion at FC Groningen, shortly before the kick-off of the extremely important match against SC Heerenveen.
,,I already had a suspicion that this would happen, because FC Emmen insisted on extending the announcement over the weekend”, gushed Gudde. ,,I am disappointed that it has leaked from the Emmen side. That’s unprofessional and unreliable, but unfortunately that’s how the football world works.”
2. Question marks about the line-up
The basic team that sent Dennis van der Ree into the field raised eyebrows in the press gallery. Mads Bech Sørensen, who had just recovered from a broken arm, was immediately at the kick-off again. The trainer broke up the central duo Radinio Balker and Thijmen Blokzijl, which had been operating so solidly in recent weeks. Balker moved to the right-back position to neutralize SC Heerenveen’s Osame Sahraoui. Isak Määttä moved to the right wing as a left foot to give space to Manu on the left.
,,It is a bit like saving the cabbage and the goat in this way to give everyone a place in the team”, said analyst Jan Mennega, who questioned the changes. ,,Balker failed to stop Sahraoui, because he played very well. Balker is also not the most agile. I also don’t understand why Määttä is right winger. He has no cross with the right at all. It seems that Van der Ree does not dare to make choices, but at least I had spared the heart of the defense. That was just right.”
3. Manu’s shot
During the opening phase, there seemed to be no problem for FC Groningen. Van der Ree’s men had control over the game and opportunities presented themselves to open the score. The first was a beautiful shot from Elvis Manu that exploded against the underside of the crossbar. “A nice pass followed by a beautiful treasure. It couldn’t be much better”, analyst Mennega also exulted.
A few minutes later, FC Groningen also had a chance after a free kick from Laros Duarte, which ended up at Thijmen Blokzijl’s feet. The youngster took a swing, but saw that ball bounce just off the wrong side of the post.
4. The calamity
As the Derby of the North progressed, FC Groningen had to give up some ground on SC Heerenveen. The concentrate also ebbed a bit, the northerners slowly but surely became a bit half-hearted in the intervention. That also happened to Tomas Suslov, who lost the ball in midfield after half an hour. The Slovak tried to regain the ball, but in vain. It led to the opening goal.
SC Heerenveen quickly combined towards the FC Groningen penalty area, where Osame Sahraoui fired a shot at Michael Verrips’ goal. In itself it was not a swipe to lie awake for a long time, were it not for the goalkeeper letting go of the ball. With Sydney van Hooijdonk, the Frisians have a striker who mercilessly punishes such opportunities.
Verrips did not look good with the goal against. Mennega: ,,The ball changed direction slightly via Blokzijl’s foot, but that was not such that it could be used as an excuse. Verrips should have just had that ball or at least boxed the ball to the outside. FC Groningen’s backlog was against the balance at that time, but what do you buy for that? Nothing.”
5. FC Groningen sinks
After SC Heerenveen’s opening goal, FC Groningen fell away. The team that showed itself well during the first twenty minutes during the Derby of the North was behind the times. To make matters worse, it also became 0-2 five minutes before the end. This time the trouble started at Blokzijl. The talent, who just signed a new contract last week, headed under the ball in a duel with Pelle van Amersfoort. Blokzijl recovered, but was unable to prevent Van Amersfoort from returning the ball into the goal mouth. There it was again Van Hooijdonk who scored a typical striker’s goal.
In the second half, Van der Ree tried with all his might to get FC Groningen back into the game. The home team went full on the attack with Elvis Manu and Ricardo Pepi in the striker and Oliver Antman instead of Laros Duarte. It only took fifteen minutes before Van der Ree also directed defender Radinio Balker forward. It ended in a mess at FC Groningen. There was no more line to discover in the game and chances were not forthcoming.
,,These are real emergency measures, it indicates panic”, Mennega said. ,,With more than half an hour to play, why do you play as a central defender in the striker position. You do something like that in the last ten minutes, but not when there is still a third of the game to be played?”
6. Clapping in the stands
Around the eightieth minute it became restless in the hard core in the North stand. Supporters stirred at the edge of the field and, just like earlier this season against Cambuur, threatened to enter the field. Jetro Willems jumped over the boarding on behalf of FC Groningen to appease the matter, but got involved in the fight himself. Referee Serdar Gözübüyük decided to temporarily stop the match. ,,A very sad low point”, Mennega regretted the course of events. ,,I do not believe that it has ever happened before that FC Groningen players were physically attacked by their own supporters.” FC Groningen faces a heavy punishment. The KNVB has already threatened the club with sanctions such as playing a match without an audience.
7. Back to square one
Until the 1-0, the self-confidence that FC Groningen had fueled in recent weeks during the duels against Excelsior, Feyenoord and AZ was visible, but after the first setback, that seemed to be gone. “After Heerenveen’s opening goal, I found it shocking what happened. The whole thing collapsed on the side of FC Groningen. Those misbehaving supporters then did not help in the second half. They were great support at first, but then only added to the misery. FC Groningen had no chance in the second half. However, I am still not pessimistic when it comes to enforcement. The sixteenth place also offers opportunities in that respect and the competition is at least as difficult as FC Groningen.”