Netherlands:

It all looked so rosy Sunday for Schaerweijde. With a quarter to go, the home team comfortably led 2-0 in the topper against Tilburg. But after the tying goal ten minutes before time, things went wrong in the very last second of the game. A corner shot flew in behind Jan de Wijkerslooth, who was an excellent keeper. The ultimate chance to pass Tilburg on the promotion league ranking went up in smoke for the men from Zeist because of the 2-2 draw.

While Tilburg celebrated the equalizer as if they had just become champions, everything Schaerweijde-red collapsed in disappointment. First out runner Thur Stadelmaier stayed down at the head of the circle. Ironman Rashid Mehmood slapped his hands in his face. Pepijn Leenhouts walked to the dugout shaking his head. All knew: this could be a very expensive draw.

Anyone who follows the Promotion League a little knows how exciting it is in the upper reaches of the rankings. Laren, Tilburg, Schaerweijde and in their wake also Victoria and Voordaan are all fighting for a place in the top three or – even better – the championship. With four rounds of play to go, Laren and Tilburg are now both on 38 points. Schaerweijde follows with 36 points. So every point is worth its weight in gold, especially when playing a close competitor.

Just not

‘We actually did everything right to get it here,’ sighed Schaerweijde captain Jur van der Have on the pitch from which his teammates walked off one by one with a glum face. ‘We handled our chances well. Defended strongly. And our goalkeeper had some world-class saves. All we had to do in the end was finish the game. Then a goal in the last minute is very disappointing.

Tilburg took a point against Schaerweijde in the very last second of the match. Photo: Rob Römer

The disappointment was all the more understandable as Schaerweijde had the ultimate chance for 3-1 in the closing minutes. Without a goalie and with an extra man in the field, the home team broke out with an empty goal in sight. With all his might, Tilburg defender Hessel de Leeuw sprinted back to successfully throw himself in front of striker Daan Troost without making any mistakes. The counterattack eventually produced the all-decisive corner for Tilburg.

‘It’s a balancing act at such a moment. Do you go for the goal or do you win time by pinging in the corner. In this case he just didn’t make it and it was hit on the counter. That makes it extra painful. Not because I thought we were convincingly better than Tilburg. But because we were so close.

For now, Schaerweijde is running a fine second half of the season. Only the first game of the season, early March against Laren, was lost (0-1). Since then, Albert Kees Maneschijn’s team is undefeated. ‘We are comfortable these weeks,’ Van der Have agreed. ‘Of course we knew this was one of the most important games of the season. We were extra sharp and deliberately took it easy yesterday with King’s Day. It wasn’t because of that. Nor is it all suddenly lost now. We’re still playing for something.’

It started so well against Tilburg for the Schaerweijde of goal scorer and captain Jur van der Have. Photo: Rob Römer

Financial troubles

It was recently announced that both talents Lucas Corstens (Amsterdam) and Thies Bakker (Kampong) will leave Schaerweijde after this season. The same goes for coach Maneschijn (Hurley), although the latter has primarily a financial reason. Less income means less budget for top field hockey, so the experienced coach’s contract will not be renewed.

Van der Have, in his ninth season with Schaerweijde: ‘We knew this a bit earlier, so in the winter break we had a good talk about this. This kind of news is always annoying, but we grabbed each other and did not make an issue of it. I think it has brought us closer together rather than making us suffer. That Lucas and Thies are leaving is unfortunate, but also understandable from their perspective, especially given the situation we are in as a club. And fortunately we still have a lot of talent left.’

Van der Have’s hunger for promotion is no less. ‘Last season in the big league was tough. We were missing our central defenders and midfielders with Mats Marree, Hidde Phijffer , Floris Molenaar and Pepijn Luijkx. With a young team you don’t get time to get used to each other in the big league. This season is suitable for that. We are changeable at times, but we also have a lot of talent and play really good field hockey. Becoming number one would be a gift, but if we make it to the play-offs, that would already be great. Although promotion remains the dream scenario for me and for us.