Mark Fleks from Bocholtz has drawn 2-2 with the Dutch national team against Poland in the Nations League.
In Flek’s fourth international match, the Orange squad came back from a 2-0 deficit and had chances to score the winning goal. However, that goal was not scored.
Injury
The name of Fleks was a surprise in the line-up of national coach Louis van Gaal. The coach gave clarity about the choice for the Limburger before the game: “Jasper Cillessen sustained a small injury during training,” Van Gaal told NOS. From those words it can be concluded that Cillessen would actually be the intended goalkeeper against Poland. Due to the injury of Cillessen, Flek was able to prove himself with a team that was otherwise almost the same as the duel with Belgium.
Defensive
Poland entered De Kuip with a defensively oriented team. As a result, the Orange often had the ball and had to look for spaces to create opportunities. Poland’s goal after 18 minutes came out of the blue. After weak defense by Daley Blind, Flek was unable to save Matty Cash’s bet: 0-1. Blind and Flek did not make a strong impression with the goal. The Orange then tried to produce the equalizer, but creating chances remained difficult.
Three quick goals
After the break there was more spectacle in the game. Five minutes after the break, two Polish players came running towards Fleks after a nice deep ball. Due to a clever pass by Przemyslaw Frankowski to Piotr Zielinski, the Limburger had no chance to prevent a second Polish goal. The linesman thought it was offside, but the video referee saw that this was not the case and as a result it was still 0-2. The Orange reacted immediately and tied the score within four minutes via Davy Klaassen (1-2) and Denzel Dumfries (2-2). With the second Dutch goal, the linesman thought it was offside, but again the video referee decided otherwise and he still approved the goal.
Head Start
After that, the Orange in particular went looking for the lead. Poland lurked a little more on the counter and sent another deep ball after 70 minutes. It was the moment when Fleks could show that he was sharp. Before a Polish attacker could get to the ball, Fleks managed to kick the ball away by reacting attentively. Moments later, the Limburg goalkeeper was well positioned with a low shot.
penalty
The Orange had a great chance of victory five minutes before the end, but Memphis Depay saw his bet turned by keeper Lukasz Skorupski. After that save, defender Cash made hands. The VAR called the referee to the side, after which Depay was allowed to build from the penalty spot. The striker hit the post, making it 2-2. Moments later, Depay again had a great chance, but goalkeeper Skorupski had a great reflex. As a result, it remained 2-2, but the Orange retained the lead in the Nations League group.
rescues
Fleks will be disappointed with the two goals he had to concede. In the four international matches that Flek has played so far, he already had to get the ball out of the net six times, so that he has not yet kept an international ‘zero’. The Limburger was not often the cause of the goals against, but it will undoubtedly gnaw at the goalkeeper from Bocholtz.
In addition, Flek was not yet able to distinguish himself because he had to make few saves in four international matches. If Cillessen is fit on Tuesday, he will probably play in the home game against Wales. As a result, the next international match of Fleks may not be until September. Then the last two matches in the Nations League are scheduled in and against Poland and at home against Belgium.