Own mistakes also kill Noordster against Musselkanaal

To call it a relegation buster so early in the season is going a bit far. But the fact was that Musselkanaal had only collected one point until last Sunday, while Noordster had lost big three times in a row.

However, there is one very big difference between the two teams. The team of Musselkanaal coach Wessel Woortman scores always and everywhere, while the Pekelders are still waiting for their first league goal.

Noordster played perhaps the best football so far against Musselkanaal in the first half. De Jong saw his team build up in a controlled manner and appear dangerously in front of Musselkanaal’s goal a number of times.

Directly hit

Milan de Vroome was always involved in these actions. His bicycle kick just missed the goal, while he narrowly headed over from a cross from right striker Robert Tieks. At Musselkanaal it was the first time that the team became dangerous, but immediately hit.

Striker Jordy Oost struck out mercilessly after less than ten minutes of play, after his direct opponent had misjudged the ball. ,,That’s exactly our problem” said Noordster coach De Jong. ,,Because of our own mistakes, we are unable to keep a clean sheet at the back. That keeps coming back.”

The 2-0 from a penalty kick by Rolf Kaijser also resulted from a mistake by the Pekelders. ,,Maybe it wasn’t a penalty, but before that we had plenty of time to kick the ball to field six. Instead, we try to play football in our own penalty area.”

no fist

,,We concede goals too easily in the back and we can’t make a fist up front”, De Jong summed up his team’s game. “That is quite a worrying situation. Of course, we never give up, but things have to change quickly. We just have to stick to the game in the first half. We can move forward with that.”

His colleague was mostly relieved afterwards. “Of course this is a very nice victory. The three points are more than welcome and you immediately distance yourself from Noordster. It may not have been a very good game from our side, but the win was definitely deserved. We have a number of people who easily score a goal and can make the difference.”

Noordster hoped in the second half, after the 2-0 halftime score, for a quick goal to come back in the game. De Jong brought in an extra attacker with Maarten Koetje and started playing with four instead of five defenders.

through pass

Within a minute, the visitors’ plans could go in the trash. Niels Becker reacted attentively to a cross through the defense of Noordster and left goalkeeper Rick Wierema without a chance with his shot. De Jong: ,,With that, the game was over immediately.”

While Woortman congratulated his players, he was already looking ahead to the upcoming match. ,,Then we play against Stadskanaal. That’s the game of the year. Then I felt like a player already.”