A weak opening phase does away with JD Techniek/ Hurry-Up. In Sports Hall De Eendracht, title candidate KRAS Volendam won 32-35. As a result, the people of Drenthe lose for the ninth time in a row.
Volendam got out of the starting blocks and immediately showed why it is competing for the prizes. With fast attacking play and a solid defense, the handball players from Zwartemeer were completely overwhelmed. Within a few minutes it was already 2-9, and Hurry-Up could not find an answer to the pressure from the away team. Sven Hemmes’ team fell short defensively, in particular, causing the early deficit to come as a hammer blow.
After a time-out on Hurry-Up’s side, things started to improve. The handball temple of Drenthe revived. More variety in the attacking game created more pressure. Captain Bernie Vermeer took the team in tow and after a few quick breakouts, the home team slowly but surely started to reduce the deficit. Stijn Brinks capitalized on a few quick counters and at halftime Hurry-Up was still somewhat in the wake of the Volendam team at 12-18.
The second half started promisingly for the home team, partly thanks to strong play from veteran Sjoerd Boonstra. The orange shirts fought back nicely in the match. The pace increased and the handball players from Zwartemeer showed the better game for a long time. Martijn Bijl fired a number of cannonballs at the Volendam goal and single-handedly managed to bring the score to 24-26. But the faster pace also came with more mistakes. Oscar Scholl on the Volendam side was especially difficult to stop.
The visitors managed to strike again and again when the home team took risks and despite the fighting spirit of the team of trainer/coach Sven Hemmes, the Drenthe team did not get closer than a two-point difference. In the final phase, Volendam showed itself to be the more mature team and won: 32-35
In tonight’s other matches, HV Aalsmeer managed to defeat KTSV Eupen with conviction (42-31). At the bottom of the rankings, Houten recorded a crucial victory over Sasja HC: 31-29.
The defeat leaves Hurry-Up in penultimate place, while Volendam continues its hunt for leader Aalsmeer. The next two weeks will be important for the Drenthe handball players. The match against number 9 Houten is scheduled for next week. The following week against the bottom of the competition: Sasja KV.