FC Volendam finally returns to the highest level. The New Orange had to beat FC Den Bosch to force promotion. Thanks to goals from Josh Flint and Robert Mühren, Volendam is back in the Eredivisie: 1-2!
The ball lay still for a while in the initial phase after a lot of fireworks and smoke development on the field. After the clouds of smoke cleared, an attractive first half unfolded. Gaetano Oristanio had a huge opportunity after four minutes from a corner, but his effort ended on the crossbar. In the counter-punch, the home team remained extremely dangerous via Nikolaj Möller (header past), Terrence Douglas (one-on-one) and a free kick by Soufyan Ahannach. Volendam came out on top after goalkeeper Wouter van der Steen went under the ball.
Captain Damon Mirani can head the ball back, after which Josh Flint scores his first goal: 0-1. Despite the lead, Den Bosch had a great chance. This is how Jeremy Cijntje escaped the defense. An extreme intervention by Filip Stanković prevented worse. Less than a minute later, top scorer Robert Mühren made the evening even more beautiful by making the left 2-0. In the remainder of the first half, Stankovic kept his team going several times. The biggest chance was for Cijntje, but the Serbian goalkeeper was again a bummer.
The halftime score of 0-2 led to celebration on the Dijk in Volendam:
Matching goal
Den Bosch came out of the dressing room a little brighter and handed out pinpricks via Cijntje (cross over) and Ahannach (partition in front). Hereafter, Volendam seemed shaken awake, as it promptly created opportunities. A cross by Bilal Ould-Chikh unexpectedly hit the post. Boy Deul forced Van der Steen to a save with a hard shot into the short corner and goalscorer Mühren also found the goalkeeper in his way. In the final phase, the home team remained extremely dangerous, as it went looking for the connecting goal.
That eventually came through substitute Sven van Bakel: 1-2. It led to a lot of butt squeeze for Volendam fans. The deception seemed to get even bigger after Torino Hunte tapped the ball past Stankovic. It was Mirani who barely cleared the line. The game was halted after items were thrown onto the field. Hunte had another great chance, Stankovic once again proved to be a bummer. Terrence Douglas took red after a disturbance. In the end it all didn’t matter anymore, because Volendam is back in the Eredivisie.
FC Volendam line-up: Stankovic; James (A. Plat/37), Mirani, Flint, Murkin; W. Ould-Chikh, Deul. Oristanio (El Kadiri/80); Van Mieghem, Mühren (Candle/80) , B. Ould-Chikh (Antonucci/68)
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