Damage in the Box!

This weekend was spent in the company of four other 'hoppers' taking in four Dutch games in two days...3 Eredivisie and 1 Topklasse. Thanks to the organisation of others who sorted out the notoriously difficult to obtain match tickets (due to the Dutch ID card system) the hotel and transport, it was just a case of arriving at Schipol airport then enjoying the ride.....

3pm, Saturday 19th November 2011
Topklasse
Ijsselmeervogels 1-2 Noordwijk
Attendance: 1,800

The weekend began with a Topklasse game between Ijsselmeervogels and Noordwijk. Topklasse is the 3rd tier of Dutch football and it's inaugral season was only last year. The league was created to bridge the gap between the (professional) Eerste Divisie and (amateur) Hoofdklasse. Due to religious grounds there are Saturday and Sunday divisions, with the champions of both playing off for the right to promotion. Ijsselmeervogels were the inaugral champions but refused promotion "as professional football does not fit in with our culture"

Ijsselmeervogels are one of the most successful amateur sides in The Netherlands and are based in the village of of Bunschoten-Spakenburg, which is just south of Lake Ijsselmeer, and around 30 miles east of Amsterdam.

Their home ground, Sportpark de Westmaart, is a neat set up with a large seated stand along one side of the pitch and a covered terrace along the other side. The pitch is a 4G artificial surface.

The game was absolutely dreadful. Apart from the last 20 minutes, there was no sense of urgency and little in the way of goalmouth action. Rico Kogeldans gave the visitors the lead just before half time with a shot from the edge of the box. Jan de Graaf equalised for the homesters, with a header from a corner before Mohammed Faouzi's tame effort six minutes from time sealed the points for Noordwijk.

Somehow the club have managed to cobble together some highlights!

How long this link will remain, I dont know....

http://www.ijsselmeervogels.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=222:noordwijkt&catid=35:seizoen&Itemid=252

7.45pm, Saturday 19th November 2011
Eredivisie
Heerenveen 1-1 RKC Waalwijk
Attendance: 25,000

After the first game it was quickly up the road to Heerenveen and the Abe Lenstra stadium. This ground is on the edge of town and was opened in 1994. It is named after the most famous player in the history of Heerenveen (there is also a statue of him at the ground).

The tickets were for an unreserved area of the ground but by the time we'd finished our drinks there weren't too many decent seats left and I found my view obscured by a post. I suppose it was just like being a Goodison Park!

Judging by the nature of the spiked enclosure, i'm guessing this is normally the away end, but seeing as Waalwijk brought few fans, the tickets went on sale to home supporters.

The game was a good contest as Geoffrey Castillion (12) gave the visitors the lead. Despite Heerenveen pressure they looked like holding on to gain the win.

However the turning point was the introduction of ex-Sheffield Wednesday player Gerald Sibon, who took advantage of tiring Waalwijk legs.

He caused them lots of problems in his 20 minute cameo and equalised on 76 minutes with a sublime chip from the edge of the box. He could have won it for the homesters right at the end but his effort came back off the woodwork. On the balance of play, a draw was a fair result.

Gerald Sibon nearly wins the game for Heerenveen bu his effort
crashes the woodwork

Highlights are available via this link....
http://eredivisielive.nl/wedstrijd/1621922/sc-heerenveen---rkc-waalwijk/
Again, how long it will remain valid, I don't know.

It was then a 60 minute trip down the motorway to our hotel in Deventer for a few beers and a rendezvous with Maya....

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I wouldn't normally take photo's of grounds I haven't seen a game at, but as its highly unlikely I will visit Spakenburg again (famous last words!) I took the pictures below.

Spakenburg's ground is adjacent to Ijsselmeervogels at the Sportpark de Westmaart. They too play in the Topklasse and, unlike their rivals, they are prepared to take promotion to the Eerste Divisie. As I write these notes, they are top of league, so it will be interesting to see how their season develops.

After the excesses of last week, today I wanted to stay within an hour or so of home. A trip to Lancashire fitted the bill perfectly.

Wigan Robin Park, who have only existed since 2005, were hosting Daisy Hill (which is a village around 4 miles from Bolton) in a North West Counties League Division One game. This had the makings of a decent game as, at the beginning of play, Wigan were joint top of the table after 3 straight wins and Daisy Hill were making good progress with 1 defeat in their last 5 games.

The only doubt in my mind was regards the ground where Wigan play their homes games - the Robin Park Arena. It is an athletics stadium, in the shadow of Wigan Athletic's ground. I'm not a fan a watching football in these type of venues as that means you are well away from the action.

My worst fears were confirmed upon arrival at the ground, but the small compensation was that it was quite a large stand, so if you went towards the back rows, or even stood in the refreshment area, the views were quite reasonable.

It would've been rude not to!

After paying my admission at the front desk and purchasing the excellent programme (where I was impressed by the use of the word 'mingebag' in one of the articles) it was then off to seek out another thing Wigan is famous for - pies! I'm happy to report the one I sampled today was absolutely spiffing and most welcome on a chilly afternoon.

The game lived up to my pre-match predication as Wigan edged out their visitors by the odd goal in three.

The homesters took the lead after 10 minutes when the unmarked Sean Judge headed home a corner. Daisy Hill made most of the running but they never really troubled the Wigan goalkeeper. The Robins created the better chances and went further in front on 40 minutes through a quickly taken free kick, Phil Howard rolling the ball into the empty net whilst the Daisy Hill goalkeeper was still organising the wall. These free-kicks are controversial if you are on the receiving end, and Daisy Hill were fuming, but if you are the attacking side then you have to have the advantage. The referee was happy to let the goal stand, despite the Daisy Hill protestations.

This sense of perceived injustice served to galvanise the visitors in the second period and they dominated the possession. They were back in the game after 58 minutes when Craig Xeureb went through one-on-one, but a last ditch tackle stopped him scoring. From the resulting corner the ball dropped to Xeureb on the edge of the box and he curled a delightful shot into the top corner.

Despite dominating the remainder of the game, Daisy Hill couldn't force and equaliser and Wigan held on to take the points and remain (joint) top of the table.