He has been training with Den Bosch’s men all season, made his debut in the Tulip big league after the winter break against Nijmegen, and played a notable role in the Bossche team’s brilliant cup season with six goals. Sweder Koens, the 18-year-old striker from Den Bosch JO18-1, has in recent weeks laid a nice foundation for a bright future at the Oosterplas.
The cup final between Den Bosch and Almere (7-2) was fourteen minutes old Thursday evening when the hundreds of spectators at Oosterplas were already presented with the most beautiful goal of the match. From a splitting pass from Mees Kurvers at about 26 meters from the goal, Sweder Koens tapped the ball behind goalkeeper Fedde Hempel with one dazzling move. A gem of a goal.
With a fist in the air, Koens ran away, met by fellow attacker Koen Bijen, who was visibly impressed by the beauty of the goal.
‘I saw that Mees was already going to make that pass, but I actually had no idea what I was going to do with that ball,’ Koens recalls the moment. ‘I was standing with my back to the goal and the ball came a little to my right, so taking it in was not an option. In a flash I thought of tipping the ball behind me. That worked out well. It disappeared nicely into the corner.
Almere players Krijn Postuma, Bram Cornelisse and Miquel Pereira were on top of the ball, but could do nothing but watch as it went into the goal before they could react. That speed of action, that element of surprise – it is exactly what typifies Koens as a striker. ‘I try to do a lot on intuition. Of course I have to stick to my tasks within our game plan, but outside of that I try not to think too much. That works best for me. In a fraction, I often decide what to do.’
Focus on efficiency
The goal in the tension-free final against Almere was already his sixth goal in the cup tournament, which ended so gloriously for Den Bosch with the second cup win in club history, after the earlier success in 2023 – also against Almere. With those goals – all field goals – Koens can be called one of Den Bosch’s tastemakers in the cup tournament.
In the third round against Push (1-7 victory) he remained dry, but after that he was loose: two goals in the quarterfinals against Were Di (0-7), a hat trick within seven minutes in the semifinals against Schaerweijde (8-1) and so that wonderful goal against Almere.
‘It was a wonderful feeling every time to score on this team,’ said Koens, who was plucked from the Upward youth team a few years ago. ‘That’s what I focus on as a striker, too, but it’s not the only thing on my mind. I want to get returns for the team. That meant playing the ball to someone in a black shirt and getting penalty corners. Because we have Timo [Boers] and that’s a super dangerous weapon in our game. Getting a corner obviously makes me a little less happy than when I score myself, but if I can put Timo in position with it, that’s worth a lot too.’
Hard work
When you see Koens acting like this in Den Bosch’s main squad, it seems as if the striker has few adaptation problems. Although he laughingly admits that the forwards of the current number two of the Tulip big league have a lot of work to do.
‘In the beginning it took a lot of getting used to. And if I’m honest, it still is. The game goes so fast, you get so little time in the field to make choices. I’ve been training with the group for a while now, but in matches it goes up a notch. I also have to deal with different defenders all the time. But that only makes you better. I am grateful to Nanco [Jansonius, coach] that I get chances to make minutes.’
Sweder Koens (left) and captain Jasper Tukkers pose with the Gold Cup. Photo: Willem Vernes
Learning from Thierry and Koen
As a young, talented striker, Koens is lucky to play in the forward line with players like Thierry Brinkman and Koen Bijen. The youth player could not have wished for a better learning experience.
‘It’s very cool to play with such players. Anyway, in the forwards we have a lot of contact with each other, so you learn quickly. I try to watch them closely, how they move, the tricks they use, how they enter into combinations. I also ask them a lot and they are always willing to help me, just like all the other guys on the team. I would like to develop further and learn a lot more from them next season.’
by Hockey.nl
