U21 World League

ROJO LEN
Spectators: 7506 (Terracing: 5630, Seating: 1726, VIP seats: 150) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Javier Palben took the kick off in the first half of the match. Jan Huijsmans could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 2nd minute of the match, but Christiaan Been made a huge save. In the 4th minute, Javier Palben reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Christiaan Been. The goal made the score 1-0. In the 7th minute, NFC Eagles 22's Robert-Jan Hermensen seemed to kick out at an opponent. The referee saw this and, surprisingly, showed Robert-Jan Hermensen the red card, dismissing him from the pitch. The coaching staff of NFC Eagles 22 protested bitterly, but the referee would have none of it, and Robert-Jan Hermensen had no choice but to slowly walk off the pitch. 6 minutes into the game, one of NFC Eagles 22:s players got tackled near the goal, and the referee blew for a penalty. NFC Eagles 22:s Christiaan Been showed great skill when he stopped Felix Bizi:s penalty. Chris Hollander sent away a hard shot on goal in the 13th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 17 minutes into the match, NFC Eagles 22's goalkeeper Christiaan Been had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Jan Huijsmans. In the 18th minute Dé Baron shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Lino Bembe saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After a defensive mix-up in ROJO's zone, Dé Baron stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Lino Bembe came out of the goal and Dé Baron tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. A collision led to ROJO getting a freekick after 27 minutes play. Javier Palben hit a great ball. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Dé Baron in the 28th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Lino Bembe saved ROJO from getting behind. In the 29th minute Dé Baron shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Lino Bembe saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. With a little luck, NFC Eagles 22's Christiaan Been got control of the ball when Jan Huijsmans tried to sneak it across the goal line. Arjan Kun kicked well hit freekick during the 41st minute of the match. Christiaan Been took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Felix Bizi, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Af the end of the first half the score was 1-0. The first half had gone as expected for the home team.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Dé Baron was the one to do the kick off. Chris Hollander might have been able to make a better finish in the 54th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Lino Bembe. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Chris Hollander ran back to his position shaking his head. ROJO's Lino Bembe proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 59th minute of the match, managed to save ROJO from getting a goal against them. In the 62nd minute of the match NFC Eagles 22 got a corner. ROJO's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Chris Hollander ran over to the corner to take the kick. After 69 minutes of play, ROJO's Jan Huijsmans made it 2-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Christiaan Been was left in no man's land by his defense there! After a rather tough play, NFC Eagles 22's Andreas Deinse got a free kick in the 71st minute. In the 72nd minute of the match Nicolas Salvino sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Christiaan Been skillfully saved the ball. After a defensive mix-up in ROJO's zone, Dé Baron stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Lino Bembe came out of the goal and Dé Baron tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Dé Baron who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 81stth minute tested the skills of Lino Bembe when he managed to save the team from getting behind. Dé Baron recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 87th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. In the 90th minute of the match, Dé Baron got a very nice opportunity to score, but Lino Bembe was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The ROJO fans cheered their team off the field, for while NFC Eagles 22 had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.