Pelikaan S returned from Lichtenvoorde on Saturday without points. There they played against Longa’30 and the low-flyer in the fourth division was too strong for the Oostwolders with 2-1. The defeat only took shape in the absolute final phase, also in a questionable manner.
Coach Robbie Wentink’s team lost the last three competition matches without scoring themselves. But by Longa’30 his men showed up a bit better again. “The first twenty minutes were really good. Fabian Stevens and Jeroen Haan both had a huge chance, they should have gone in. Yes, this one falls into the category of a bitter defeat,” Wentink anticipated what happened in the final phase.
At first Pelikaan S took the lead. Five minutes before half time, Jan Hooiveld scored. Before that, goalkeeper Stefan van der Lei kept his team going a few times. He saved a penalty and saved in a few one-on-one situations.
After the break, Pelikaan S was startled by a serious injury to Fabian Stevens. He had to be taken away on a stretcher. “The game was stopped for about ten minutes and even after that we were still a bit upset. Then we took over again and the 0-2 was in the air before the 1-1.”
Hands or no hands?
Yet it became 1-1 just before the end. A questionable goal, according to Wentink. “The referee saw hands from Farid Balvaneh. He hesitated for a moment, but pointed to the dot anyway. Farid is convinced that he got the ball on his chest. It was also from two meters away. He also got a red card, so we had to play ten men against eleven in the last few minutes. In the second minute of injury time they made it 2-1. After that, Omar Kavak still got a chance, but it was not to be.”
After the victory, Longa’30 jumped over Pelikaan S, which has now dropped to fourteenth place in the rankings. Only Heino and Be Quick 1887 are still among the team from Oostwold.