The handball players of Drenth Groep Hurry-Up have reached the semi-finals of the national cup tournament. In the quarterfinals, Tachos was defeated 35-26.
Tachos from Waalwijk was behind the times in Zwartemeer from the start. The Drenths quickly took a lead in the well-filled De Eendracht sports hall with 400 visitors and did not relinquish it until the final whistle. Apart from a somewhat sloppy period in the first half, in which the home team let the Waalwijkers come back to one point, coach Joop Fiege’s men had the cup match under control.
Fiege was therefore a satisfied man. “It went as planned. This is a great victory”, concluded the Emmenaar. ,,Our game was good at times and less so at times. In a period in the first half we made too many mistakes. We were up three goals and just threw two balls away and then were only one in front. That was a bit of a shame. In this game, boys played with us who otherwise get less playing time. As a result, we made more mistakes.”
Sjoerd Boonstra makes his comeback after three months
The fact that the coach gave more players playing time by making many changes had to do with injuries at Hurry-Up, which meant that not everyone was available yet. So Tiago Azenha remained on the sidelines. Fiege: ,,He suffers from a pulled muscle in his calf. And Patrick Miedema stayed aside because he felt a bit sick. We saved that too.”
The return of circle runner Sjoerd Boonstra was positive. After an injury and three months of absence, he made his first playing minutes in the Hurry-Up shirt, although his contribution was still limited. Some opponents did notice that the very strong Boonstra was back and remained dazed for a while after a collision. ,,He was allowed to participate for a while, but he still doesn’t have enough match rhythm”, said Fiege. ,,He can play for another hour, but the question is whether that will yield much now. The ball feeling is still missing. That has to come back in the training sessions.”
Coach Joop Fiege wants to play in every home
It is not yet known who Hurry-Up will play against in the semifinals. Fiege does have a preference for the playground. ,,I want to play at home in Zwartemeer. All strong teams remain. It doesn’t really matter who we meet, as long as we can play at home. The stands were already quite full on this crazy Tuesday.” According to the coach, his team can bring something extra with the support of the fanatical Zwartemeer audience.
With Tachos, not the strongest BeNe-League visited Zwartemeer on Tuesday evening. The Waalwijkers had already lost the first game in the Handbal.NL-League, in which the Dutch title is played, two weeks ago with 29-21 against Hurry-Up.
Tachos also had no chance in the cup match. Led by the Dane Nicolai Schoemaker, who replaced Miedema as playmaker, Hurry-Up quickly took a 6-2 lead. Then there was a bit of a hitch for the home team due to sloppy play and loss of possession. Tachos was therefore able to come back to 6-5.
Order of knighthood for former chairman Hendrikus Velzing
But that was it. Hurry-Up powered up again and gradually increased the lead. At halftime it was already very comfortable with 17-11. Former chairman Hendrikus Velzing was given flowers before the start of the second half. The Klazienavener was congratulated on his knighthood, which he had received earlier in the day at the provincial house in Assen.
Hurry-Up continued what it was doing in the second half. Fiege gave some other players playing time and the big lead was easily held until the final whistle.
Hurry Up Tachos 35-26
Rest mode: 17-11.
Spectators: 400.
Scores Hurry Up: Tako 5, Bos 5, Riksten 4, Schoemaker 4, Suelmann 4, Jaspers 4, Soares 3, Pronk 3, Gracio 3 and Vermeer.
Top scorer Tachos: Voermans 6.
Next game: Saturday Sittard: Lions-Hurry-Up.