FC Volendam’s season in a nutshell: promotion hunt with peaks and valleys

From champion candidate to low flyer

In the beginning it didn’t look like FC Volendam was going to have a good season. The opening match against FC Eindhoven ended in 2-2 by a goal in the 93rd minute and the two matches after that were also not won. At home against ADO Den Haag, goalkeeper Filip Stankovic received an early red card, after which 3-1 was lost† A week later it became 1-1 against Excelsior. 16th after 3 games (7 points behind)

It’s starting to run

From August 27 it went much better with FC Volendam. MVV (5-0) and champion candidate De Graafschap (0-3) were convincingly defeated. After a draw against Roda JC, it really started to run at the Eelboeren with seven wins in a row. The field play was often not great, but the points kept rolling in. That was partly thanks to striker Robert Mühren. Against FC Dordrecht, for example, he was responsible for all four goals: 4-2. From the ninth round, FC Volendam was at the top of the first division. 1st after 13 games (4 points for)

Comedy Capers on The Future

The most special game of this season was undoubtedly in Amsterdam against Young Ajax. On Friday evening, November 19, it was already 4-2 for the home team after thirty minutes. It was a cheese hole in the back for both teams and all mistakes were immediately punished. Het Nieuwe Oranje showed resilience in the second half. Martijn Kaars made it 4-3 in the 88th minute and Denso Kasius made it 4-4 in the fifth minute of injury time. 1st after 16 games (3 points for)

Great undefeated streak

From the fourth round, FC Volendam proved to be unbeatable in the first division. In the 1969/1970 season, the club remained unbeaten for 21 consecutive games, but this team went a step further. It was against MVV matched club record and two weeks later Young FC Utrecht believe in it in Volendam. In the meantime, Denso Kasius left. The right back was rented from FC Utrecht and grew into a regular base player. However, the Utrecht team sold him to the Italian Bologna at the end of the transfer window. 1st after 25 games (5 points for)

Punishment against Excelsior and Emmen

FC Volendam seemed unbeatable, but the game left a lot to be desired. On Friday 11 March, number three Excelsior came to visit and within 29 minutes the Volendam team was behind 4-0. It was chaos in the back, so that the supreme had to make way for the impotent. The match was lost 5-2 and therefore ended the undefeated series after 26 games. “Maybe some of the guys were a little tense. This was one of the first games that really mattered,” captain Damon Mirani said afterwards. FC Emmen turned out to be in three days later the topper also much too strong for Volendam and took over the lead. At halftime, the club from Drenthe already led 4-0. The match eventually ended in 4-1. 2nd after 30 games (1 point behind)

Mirani saves point in final seconds

Without too much confidence, the wide pants played against ADO Den Haag on Friday evening, March 18. Deep into injury time, FC Volendam faced a 1-0 deficit. The ball was then pumped forward one more time. Mike Eerdhuijzen headed the ball in front of the goal, after which Mirani scored† The players, the staff, the branch and NH Sport commentator Edward Dekker went crazy… The third loss in a row against a competitor was therefore averted. 2nd after 31 games (3 points behind)

From sadness to promotion

Also at home against TOP Oss (1-2) and a visit to Jong PSV (2-2) FC Volendam could not win. The gap on leader Emmen had risen to six points and number three Excelsior was approaching three points. The numbers one and two promote to the Eredivisie, so the North Hollanders had to beat De Graafschap on April 8. By goals from Mühren, Daryl van Mieghem and Koen Blommestijn did it succeed with 3-1† Competitors Excelsior, FC Eindhoven and ADO Den Haag also failed, as a result of which the gap with the number three has increased to seven points. 2nd after 35 games (6 points behind)

Tonight, three points in Den Bosch are enough for promotion to the Eredivisie.