DOETINCHEM – De Graafschap fulfilled its assignment at the start of the competition. The Doetinchem club, title contender in the first division, settled against FC Den Bosch on Monday evening, despite a dramatic first half: 4-2.
Whether I was angry at half time? No, but we’ve touched on a few things
The big question in advance was how De Graafschap would deal with the pressure and the circumstances. The entourage in De Vijverberg stadium could not be compared to that of the last home game, on February 28 of this year. The Doetinchem club then took the third period title in front of almost ten thousand frenzied supporters with a resounding victory over Jong AZ (5-1), against Den Bosch there were only about 3,100 spectators spread across the stands due to the corona measures.
The question was impossible to answer positively halfway through the game. In the first 45 minutes, De Graafschap was nothing like a promotion candidate, let alone a favorite for the title. After the viscous performance against Den Bosch, the first official match in 176 days (!), The Super Farmers stepped off the field with a smile.
“The first victory has been won, that was the most important thing”, said trainer Mike Snoei. “We don’t have to be difficult about the game being bad.”
Shit in the pants
De Graafschap seemed to be suffering from ‘promotional stress’ before the break and played football with shit in their pants. There was nothing to be seen of the enormous self-confidence, built up in the strong practice matches with premier divisionists SC Heerenveen and Heracles Almelo (5-1 and 1-0 victory). Prune screamed at the sidelines to send his troops forward.
In vain, because Den Bosch survived without any problems. De Graafschap created virtually no opportunities before the break and mainly fell back. The pace was far too slow and the midfield lacked depth and creativity. That the team from Doetinchem went to rest with a 1-0 lead – via a striking header from Toine van Huizen – could therefore be called a miracle.
“Was I angry at half time? No, but we have touched on a few things ”, said Snoei. “The pace had to be increased. Balls forward faster. When we did that, you saw that Den Bosch was having a hard time. ”
Van Mieghem
The Brabant opponent came alongside via an own goal from Julian Lelieveld (1-1), but was then no longer resistant to the Doetinchem drive. Daryl van Mieghem took care of the 2-1 and Lelieveld enabled Elmo Lieftink to make it 3-1. The masterpiece then came from substitute Johnatan Opoku. The debutant made it 4-1 with a dry bang. Jizz Hornkamp’s 4-2 was then for the statistics.
Snoei: “There is still plenty to improve on our game. But if we can no longer be satisfied with four goals and three points, then we will become very negative. ”
Immediate ‘thunder’ is not an option for De Graafschap. The game at Go Ahead Eagles, in the second round, has been moved from next Sunday to Tuesday October 13 for safety reasons. The Super Farmers now have twelve days to prepare for the home game against Roda JC (Saturday, September 12). Snoei: ,, It is very annoying, we would have liked to keep going. Now we have to arrange a practice match to stay in our rhythm. ”
De Graafschap-FC Den Bosch 4-2 (1-0). 45. 1-0 Van Huizen, 53. 1-1 Lelieveld (own goal), 59. 2-1 Van Mieghem, 62. 3-1 Lieftink, 79. 4-1 Opoku, 80. 4-2 Hornkamp.
Yellow cards: Opoku (De Graafschap), Hornkamp, Felida, Van der Heijden (FC Den Bosch).
De Graafschap: The farmer; Lelieveld (62. Van Heertum), Van Huizen, Van de Pavert, Baas; Lieftink, Dekker (73. Schuurman), Verbeek (90. Konings); Van Mieghem, Seuntjens, Hamdaoui (62. Opoku).
FC Den Bosch: Van der Steen; Deijl, Soumaoro, Van der Winden, Green; Van Moorsel, Felida, Van der Heijden (85. Lambert), Meerveld (72. Mulders); Hornkamp, Trotman (60. Bolsius).
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