Almere City mercenary Bradly van Hoeven made the liberating 2-0 against leader Willem II as a substitute at FC Emmen on Friday evening. After the victory he shed his tears.
It was a remarkable moment on Friday evening at De Oude Meerdijk. When referee Allard Lindhout blew his whistle for the last time, almost all FC Emmen players raised their hands in triumph to celebrate the victory over leader Willem II. Bradly van Hoeven responded differently. The Drenthe attacker, who made it 2-0 shortly before the end, knelt down, put his hand in front of his face and started to sob.
“It all came together for a moment,” said 23-year-old Van Hoeven shortly after the match. “In football you have to deal with peaks and valleys. It’s wonderful that I can peak again. That stirred something up in me.”
Broken boyhood dream
FC Emmen picked up Van Hoeven on the final day of the last winter transfer period at Almere City, where he had ended up sidetracked. “If FC Emmen had not come, I might now be an amateur footballer. That would mean that a childhood dream had been shattered. The feeling that you are not always in control was especially annoying.”
Van Hoeven was trained by Sparta, had a great season with Go Ahead Eagles with eight goals in 33 games, moved to Almere City, but fell into oblivion there. A loan to TOP Oss yielded one goal in 19 matches and after two substitute appearances this season at Almere City, the winger was relegated to Jong Almere City.
Uncle Gerard
To make matters worse, Van Hoeven also had to deal with a sad family event this season. Uncle Gerard died at the age of 53 after a long illness. “What he went through is of course much harder. He was still in the middle of life, but didn’t make it. My uncle fought a long battle and yet always remained positive. I also kept that in mind.”
It all came together for Van Hoeven on Friday evening against Willem II. Twenty minutes before the end he came on for Vicente Besuijen, who had made it 1-0 after 21 minutes. After a good pass from Ben Scholte, Van Hoeven ended the match shortly before the end with the 2-0. “That was a wonderful feeling,” smiled the sympathetic Van Hoeven.
Happy Grim
FC Emmen coach Fred Grim was pleased with his pupil’s goal. “I had my eye on Bradly for some time. He did not get around to playing at Almere City. I’m glad we were able to get him on the final day of the transfer window. Bradly is a boy who is always busy with his sport. He has a few specific qualities. He is reasonably strong on the ball, shows that he has depth and overview, but above all he has a great cross.”
Well taken care of
Van Hoeven is having a great time in Emmen. Not just because after a few dark months the sun breaks through again. “I have been treated very well here. I live at a holiday park in Erm and love it there. When I came to FC Emmen the results were not good, but I did not have the feeling that there was much tension in the group. Maybe I didn’t notice because I was new. Fortunately, we have now achieved two good victories in a row. We must now all continue with this.”