No, it was anything but pretty, but the three points were more than welcome, to say the least. With a new tactical view, SC Cambuur ended a negative series of four defeats in a row at home against Telstar on Saturday evening. “This victory is good for us.”
A whim in the second half of an otherwise fairly mediocre match proved to be enough for the victory. Matthias Nartey, the 19-year-old born and bred Leeuwarden who recently signed his first professional contract, sent Remco Balk into the depth with a careful through ball. Balk hesitated for a moment, waiting for assistance, but he soon decided to shoot the ball hard at goal. Ronald Koeman Jr., the son of the national coach, was in trouble.
Stay close to yourself
“Lately I have often spoken to the press in a negative way,” Balk said afterwards, referring to the many yellow cards he has already collected this season. “I’ve had quite a lot happen to me. That was hard. You see all kinds of negative reactions. That does something to you. But you just have to stay true to yourself. Of course, I should get fewer yellow cards. Only I don’t always do it on purpose. Those people who say something don’t know me at all.”
The better the feeling after that winning goal, the attacker admitted. “It’s nice to be the center of attention in a positive way. The football world can be that changeable. It was a really good ball from Nartey. I actually immediately thought that I shouldn’t shoot it diagonally, because that would have been too predictable for the goalkeeper. Luckily he was in a good position. It’s very nice that we once again achieved a result and also kept a clean sheet.”
That has been different in recent weeks. The Leeuwarders won only two of the last ten matches. The departure at Jong AZ last week was the final straw for Henk de Jong. The coach chose to send five defenders onto the field against Telstar. A striking choice, because De Jong stands for attacking football. He always wants to entertain the audience, especially at home. And yet the ranking forced him to throw his principles overboard.
The supporters, who generally quickly shout ‘Leeuwarduh, attackluh!’ people, according to De Jong, just had to get used to it. They would certainly understand that an emergency measure was needed to turn things around. Or better yet: try to shake things up. The tactical change would not guarantee positive results, De Jong said, if only because the team had not yet fully mastered the new system.
Rarely spectacular
It soon became clear that the duel with Telstar would provide little entertainment. Every now and then one of the two teams managed to make the audience bounce back. For example, Cain Seedorf curled the ball twice just wide of Yanick van Osch’s goal on behalf of Telstar. But it was Cambuur that most often caused rare commotion in the stands. With a shot from Sekou Sylla on the fists of Ronald Koeman Jr. for example. Or with a great chance for Agustin Anello, who passed.
De Jong emphasized before the match that he had chosen football despite the system, which was considered defensive. With space on the flanks for backs Sturla Ottesen and Sekou Sylla and in midfield again a spot for creative Daniël van Kaam. But despite the good intentions, the game left much to be desired both offensively and defensively. More than once, supporters were audibly overcome by frustration.
Substitutions work out well
“No, it wasn’t the best match,” Henk de Jong admitted realistically afterwards. “But that was also because Telstar used almost the same system as us and we therefore often played one-on-one. As a result, we almost didn’t get to play football. We also had difficulty with the build-up, because there was a chance that if something went wrong, the ball would end up in our goal. We also suffered careless losses of ball too often, but that had to do with form.”
Half an hour before the end, the trainer decided to provide his team with fresh, youthful energy with Matthias Nartey and Wiebe Kooistra. Changes that produced the desired effect almost immediately. The home team promptly started playing football more opportunistically, with players overlapping on the side and runs in depth. It resulted in Balk’s goal fifteen minutes before the end. An advantage that Cambuur would not relinquish.
With trial and error
With this, the Leeuwarders ended the negative series of four defeats in a row. And not only that: partly due to the results on the other fields – VVV-Venlo lost 0-2 to leader Willem II – Cambuur temporarily joined competitors FC Emmen, Helmond Sport and VVV-Venlo, who together with the yellow and blue are involved in a fierce battle for that coveted spot in the play-offs for promotion.
“This victory is good for us,” concluded De Jong. “There have been plenty of games this season where I sat on the sidelines and constantly thought: oof! I had those moments a few times during this match, but I still sat relatively calmly on the bench. Of course, things didn’t always go well, but that can’t happen all at once. You can see it in Ajax. It will also be a matter of trial and error for us. But at least we got the first three points.”
