Hoogeveen is out of the cup. Coach Nico Haak’s team made an ugly mistake against Jubbega. After ninety minutes of anti-football, there was a 3-1 final result on the scoreboard in favor of the Frisian first division.
No ‘Spakenburg conditions’ next season for Hoogeveen. The semi-final of the district cup could have resulted in a place in the national cup competition for the following season. The leader of the fourth division A on Sunday, however, unnecessarily stranded in the quarterfinals on Frisian soil. The second loss in a row, because last week it went 2-3 in the competition against Rohda Raalte.
Easy
“Deservedly lost. It’s as simple as that”, was the short comment of the visibly disappointed Haak. The Hoogeveen trainer had received disturbing statistical figures about the dueling power of his players from his colleague Rohda Raalte and pointed this out to them in advance.
“I didn’t see that. Their battle plan was better and they blocked almost all attacks. The way we defended was just not good, the pace was too slow and we didn’t win any second games. But all credits to Jubbega. My boys will have to show different football behavior in these kinds of duels.”
There was also disbelief among the Hoogeveen players themselves. Be dominant for 90 minutes and still be kicked out of the cup? ,,How is it possible”, midfielder Emil Bijlsma grumbled on the field after the final whistle. ,,This is not normal. The first half was not good for us. After the break, I think we had almost 100 percent possession of the ball, but we didn’t create enough. This is not okay, because we should never have lost today.”
Jubbega, with former paid football players Xander Houtkoop (including ex-FC Emmen), Henrico Drost (including ex-SC Heerenveen) and ex-ACV player Koen Steg, ‘parked the bus’ from the first minute. Hoogeveen attacked and it seemed only a matter of time before the first goal would be scored. Captain Menno Heerkes served brother Tom and after fifteen minutes it was 0-1. Within two minutes it was all right again. The 16-year-old talent Geert Jelke Gielstra continued well and made it 1-1 in the far corner behind ‘cup keeper’ Renzo Hemmes.
All gunpowder burned
,,Noah Schuurman just let his man run”, Haak said about the weak defense on the Hoogeveen side. Hoogeveen attacked fruitlessly for a long time and Jubbega even had a few more chances just before the break. Once Hemmes saved with one fist and again Menno Heerkes tapped the ball away from the goal line.
With that, all the gunpowder of the home club seemed to be gone. Until the final phase of the duel. Initially, Hoogeveen continued to look for short combinations, knitted far too much and no one thought about shooting from a distance. Sil Kuurman did hit the post and Justin Benjamins was also close to the second goal. It didn’t come.
Jubbega had the first ‘goldcrest’ in substitute Jacko de Jong. The ball disappeared from his free kick in the far corner right behind Hemmes: 2-1. Well into injury time, another substitute, Daryl de Vries, outsmarted Tom Heerkes. The Jubbega player then had no trouble beating Hemmes again: 3-1. “That those balls can reach our goal so easily. Incredible”, Haak reported, disappointed about the fatal hits.
Jubbega-Hoogeveen 3-1
Score: 16. Tom Heerkes 0-1, 18. Gielstra 1-1, 89. De Jong 2-1, 90. De Vries 3-1 Referee: Arends Spectators: 400
Hoogeveen: Hemmes; Schuurman (64. Nijkamp), Klaassens, Blekkink and Tom Heerkes; Veltmaat (72. Ngendakumana), Bijlsma and Menno Heerkes; Benjamins, Vijfhuizen and Kuurman.