FC Groningen has also won the fourth exhibition match. To link too positive expectations to this seems premature. But the victory over the Belgian Deinze provides a new episode in the good news show.
To understand the Belgian football pyramid and promotion and relegation regulations, a completed study in mathematics is no sinecure. The Belgian club Deinze, which plays at home in the Dakota Arena, plays in the Challenger Pro League (the second highest level) and finished in the middle bracket last season.
Deinze has a Chinese owner and ambitions. This is evident from the length of the training camp, because the Belgians will stay in Delden for no less than ten days and will meet FC Emmen on Wednesday. Their first match – against FC Groningen – was played in Epe at SV Wissel, which presented a beautifully cut turf. Unfortunately, no audience was allowed due to a threatening clash between different supporters groups.
‘John, Dick and I were all born in Winschoten’
Marcel Groninger is an assistant to Lukkien. He lives up to his name, because the 52-year-old Groninger – also born in this city – with a still youthful appearance played as a football player for Gronitas, Appingedam, HHC and Be Quick 1894, among others.
As a trainer he worked at Helpman, again Be Quick and previously five years assistant at the FC under Erwin van de Looi. In recent years he has worked for the KNVB with youth teams. Groninger was satisfied: ,,The second hour was better than the first. The intensity was higher, then I enjoyed it. It’s nice to be in Groningen again. I know the trainers well. John (Vos, the keepers trainer – ed.), Dick and I were all born in Winschoten. Caspar (cheap ed.) is a Drent, but I have known him for a long time.”
Groninger’s name was also sometimes mentioned as an intended head coach: ,,I do have the ambition to become that again in professional football, but now I am an assistant.”
Suslov sent home for disciplinary reasons
FC Groningen could not start the match with the strongest team, which lasted no less than 120 minutes (four blocks of 30). A large number of potential basic players did not come through the heavy training efforts unscathed. Duarte, Rente, Beukers, Irandust and Määttä watched from the side.
Suslov had been sent home for disciplinary reasons. He will be spoken to on Monday.
Both teams put pressure on each other’s build-up. Groningen – playing with two strikers – quickly took the lead. A nice pass from Luciano Valente, Liam van Gelderen cross and Kevin van Veen scored nicely behind his standing leg: 1-0. The Indonesian international Ferdinan Marselino, who has provided tens of thousands of extra followers on Deinze’s Instagram account, tapped the equalizer behind the well-playing Verrips and scored again with some unintentional help from Liam van Gelderen.
That goal was preceded by an unnecessary loss of possession – too much risk – by Ragnar Oratmangoen. Groningen tried to press full, but too often that went wrong. Van Veen also saw this a little earlier when he discussed the game with the injured Daleho Irandust: ,,If they break our pressure, it will be completely open. A good team then scores five goals.”
Youngsters put the FC on a win
After an interruption due to thunderstorms, the second part started with mainly new players. Joel van Kaam (nice cross from Fofin Turay), Thom van Bergen (beautiful pass Bacuna) and Romano Postema (remained calm in the completion) scored three goals, making the win enough for a promised night out. ,
,Only for the players of the second hour”, Groninger joked. Leandro Bacuna (with lots of family aside) is still out of contract after leaving Watford and showed up on the second hour. FC Groningen will receive considerably less TV income and Bacuna will not sign for an average KKD salary. His arrival would nevertheless mean a reinforcement.
The team seems to be slowly being prepared for a prominent role. No one can accuse the team of laziness or laziness. The atmosphere is good. There is more coaching and the ‘Lukkien factor’ seems to have caught on. The selection seems considerably more stable due to the arrival of somewhat older people. But prudence is the mother of wisdom. Anyone who had predicted a year ago that FC Groningen would end up in the KKD was mocking and without pity expelled from the community of football connoisseurs.
FC Groningen – KMSK Deinze 5-2
Scoring progression : 18. Van Veen 1-0, 40. Marselino 1-1, 54. Marselino 1-2, 56. Blokzijl 2-2, 64. Van Kaam 3-2, 75. Van Bergen 4-2, 118. Postema 5 -2.
Referee : Bessele
Line-up FC Groningen 1st hour : Verrips; Van Gelderen, Blokzijl, Peersman, Musampa; Pelupessy, Schreuders, Oratmangoen: Valente, Van Veen (57. Van Bergen), Kruger.
FC Groningen 2nd hour : Jurjus; Joel van Kaam, Balker, Mariani, Prins, Turay, Schreuders (90.De Jonge), Bacuna, Slor, Van Bergen, Postema.