Red cards, a strike and an own goal. The duel between FC Emmen and FC Dordrecht on Friday evening was not exactly boring, but it will leave a bad aftertaste in Drenthe. The protagonists showed themselves guilty afterwards.
Even the most experienced players make mistakes. So is Mike te Wierik. The defender of FC Emmen, usually someone to build on, experienced a very awkward moment in the final phase of the duel with FC Dordrecht. One that he is unlikely to surpass this season. With his head, the 31-year-old Overijsselaar wanted to play the ball back into the hands of his goalkeeper, Jan Hoekstra, but instead the ball disappeared into his own goal. The three points were almost certainly for FC Dordrecht, but could then be definitively credited.
“Well, what can I say”, Te Wierik responded afterwards. “I didn’t hear anything behind me, I wasn’t coached, so I assumed I could just head the ball back. That he then flies into his own goal…. Comedy Capers. I would head it back next time, because that should be possible in such a situation, but this was a case of miscommunication. That is, of course, not good. I hope this was one of those nights we won’t see again for the rest of the season. If you see what goals we have all conceded here, it is really to cry.”
Not only Te Wierik’s own goal made the tongues loose in Emmen. The other goals were also given away very easily, the defender also thought. “That red card was the tipping point early in the game. Then we had to go into survival mode. It’s a shame that they could score so quickly after that, and much too easily. We scored the tying goal before the break, created the momentum, but gave away another goal a minute later in a truly childish way. That really can’t and shouldn’t. We didn’t do that well.”
On to the other protagonist of the evening: Maikel Kieftenbeld, another experienced hand. The 33-year-old midfielder of FC Emmen made a mistake after more than ten minutes in the first half. Kieftenbeld made a rather unnecessary and rash tackle on the ball, but instead, with two legs stretched out in front, he hit Mathis Suray. The captain of FC Dordrecht fell to the ground with a loud cry and referee Robin Vereijken did not hesitate for a moment: red. Suray’s injury was ultimately not too bad. On the side of FC Emmen, the suffering was all the greater.
‘I hate myself’
“I am disappointed that I made the choice to use a sliding there”, Kieftenbeld looked back guiltily. “While that was not necessary at all at that place and at that time in the match. At one point I realized that I wouldn’t be able to reach the ball, but I was already on the ground. Then I tried to block the ball, but hit the opponent. It looked really ugly in the end, but I had no intention of hitting that boy at all. I’m very bummed about it. I also apologized and have to look at myself in this situation.”
Kieftenbeld dribbled off to the dressing room after receiving the red card. Once showered, he took a seat in the stands to watch the rest of the match. A match in which his teammates with a man were less constantly behind the facts. “All in all a frustrating first half”, confessed Kieftenbeld. “In the second half I was a bit more positive because of what those guys did on the field. There was, so to speak, a little life in it again. They really gave everything, they deserved the 2-3, but unfortunately that goal was not scored and FC Dordrecht won the battle.”
Grim: ‘Difficult to process mental blows’
Fred Grim watched from the sidelines on Friday evening as his team lost against FC Dordrecht at home. During the match, the coach tried to change things up, resulting in a revival in the second half, but in the end it turned out not to be enough to avoid defeat.
“If you run into an unnecessary red card after 10 minutes, your battle plan changes completely,” said the Amsterdammer. “And if you then childishly simply give away two goals against, it is quite difficult for the team to process those mental blows. We never recovered from those blows.”
It led to a critical note from the trainer. “What we can blame ourselves for is that after we manage to make the connection goal, we so easily collect another goal, so that you miss the momentum and have to start again. Those are moments from which we have to learn.”
Still, according to Grim, despite the 2-4 defeat, it was not all doom and gloom. “It may sound strange, but I think my players did what we agreed at half-time in the second half. And have shown a lot of energy and willpower. Then you really just have to be lucky that it falls in.”