It was also code yellow in Leeuwarden today with heavy gusts of wind and rain, but this will mainly have affected visitors from far away Maastricht. The Star Bearers of MVV will not have received the draw for the first round of the TOTO KNVB Cup with cheers anyway, because a whopping 321 kilometers by bus on a chilly Thursday is of course not what you want. Nevertheless, they made the best of it, but were unable to withstand the Leeuwarden storm and were sent home 4-1.
Last year, the cup adventure came to an end at the second stop and SC Cambuur lost out to De Treffers, who also advanced to the second round this year. That should certainly be different this year, according to head coach Henk de Jong in his reflections beforehand. He was also able to call on Youns El Hilali, who had returned from injury.
In the starting line-up itself, there were no surprises and therefore changes to be seen at SC Cambuur and the formation of the guests had hardly changed compared to last weekend. Maurice Verberne, the visitors’ trainer, did choose another goalkeeper: Thijs Lambrix.
The new goalkeeper would be busy under the autumnal conditions in the Cambuur Stadium, but it did not look like that at the beginning of the match. SC Cambuur was somewhat sloppy in the initial phase, although that may have had everything to do with the circumstances.
However it may be; MVV was the team that would take the lead and they made excellent use of the space provided by the yellow and blue. It was Buifrahi who was the final stop after a switch and was able to shoot the ball against the ropes from close range: 0-1.
SC Cambuur had to give chase and, it must be said, they did so with gusto. The ‘Henk de Jong football’ was increasingly visible and after a nice solo by Remco Balk and ditto through ball, Sekou Sylla was allowed to approach goalie Lambrix alone. The left back showed himself to be a cool finisher and controlled the ball into the corner.
The sounds of ‘t Woanskip had not yet left the stadium when a new Cambuur attack led to a penalty and a new Cambuur goal. Anyone who faithfully follows the matches now knows that this is a piece of cake for Milan Smit, although this time it was a little more difficult than usual. The wind was to blame and the striker had to put the ball back on the spot several times. However, he was not deterred and shot the ball straight through.
The lead was therefore a fact, but it would not stop there. In fact, the best goal of the evening was yet to follow and it was scored by Michael Breij. The attacking midfielder decided to give it a try from about twenty meters on the left side of the box. With a beautiful arc he curled the ball perfectly past the hopeless Maastricht goalkeeper.
The final chord of the first half went to Roberts Uldrikis, who not without fortune scored his first goal of the season. After a corner kick from Breij and a heel from Smit, he got the ball against his chest and before he knew it, the ball had crossed the line and the halftime score was 4-1 on the scoreboard.
So SC Cambuur had a lovely tea, but a warning would soon follow in the second act. At the request of old acquaintance Bryan Smeets, striker Kostons hit the ball against the woodwork and the whole of Leeuwarden escaped unscathed.
That was certainly the case the other way around when Marco Tol won the ball and must have seen from the corner of his eye that Lambrix was a little too far in front of his goal. The central defender did not hesitate for a second and tried his luck with a hard shot from around the halfway line. The ball was carried by the strong wind and the almost 5,500 supporters present held their breath. It looked as if the ball would sail straight into the goal, but the wind was too strong or the shot was too hard, either way: the ball just went over the goal.
The second half was logically a lot less spectacular than the first, with SC Cambuur trying without taking any major risks and MVV was unable to bring the tension back into the match.
Kooistra, Schaapman, Henstra and Mercera came within the lines; De Jong allowed the young guard to show it off and they brought the energy that was asked of them. The latter is the next debutant in the main squad of SC Cambuur and that is another compliment to the youth academy.
There would be one more cheer in the remainder of the match, but that was when referee Kamphuis blew the whistle for the end of the match. An excellent cup evening for SC Cambuur with no fewer than four goals and a boost for self-confidence and the club’s treasury.
No day off for SC Cambuur this weekend, because yellow-blue will be in action again next Monday and so training will continue. On Monday, TOP Oss will be the opponent in the Frans Heesen Stadium (kick-off 8 p.m.).
Line-up SC Cambuur: Van Osch; Caschili (76′ Mercera), Tol, Bergsma, Sylla; Van Kaam (C) (87′ Van Mullem), Breij, De Jong (68′ Schaapman); Balk (68′ Kooistra), Uldriķis and Smit (76′ Henstra)
Line-up MVV Maastricht: Lambrix; Labylle, Aktas, Coomans (46′ Nieling), Remans (78′ Slegers); Souren, Kleinen (66′ Livramento), Smeets (’78 Penders) ; Zeegers, Kostons and Buifrahi (46′ Tasci)
Referee: Jochem Kamphuis
Supporters present: 5.460
Score progression:
18’ 0-1, Buifrahi
25′ 1-1, Sylla
28’ 2-1, Smit (penalty)
40′ 3-1, Breij
45’ 4-1, Uldrikis
Yellow cards: Balk (SC Cambuur), Nieling, Labylle and Tasci (MVV Maastricht)
Competition sponsor: Batter Bailiffs and Lawyers
Photo: www.dijksmedia.nl
The post first appeared on cambuur.nl