After securing promotion to the Eredivisie, SC Cambuur is now also champion of the Kitchen Champion Division. The team of trainer Henk de Jong won itself at Jong AZ (2-4) and saw number two De Graafschap fail in the home game against Almere City FC: 2-2. With three games to go this season, Cambuur can no longer be traced The Super Farmers. The leader from Leeuwarden collected 85 points from 24 matches. De Graafschap is on 74 points after as many games. Both teams will meet each other on April 30 and De Graafschap will then be able to get hold of second place and promotion.
Young AZ – SC Cambuur 2-4
The visitors showed in the first half why they are the best team in the Kitchen Champion Division. Young AZ was played off the mat with attacking and effective football by the top captain. The home team also had bad luck, because Peer Koopmeiners worked the ball into his own goal in minute 12. After that, there was no stopping it for Young AZ. Top scorer Robert Mühren signed for five minutes from a difficult angle for the 0-2 of Cambuur, already his 35th goal of this year. With 21 minutes left, all tension was gone. After a smooth attack, the ball ended up at Issa Kallon and the wing attacker knew what to do with the great opportunity: 0-3. Four minutes before the half-time signal, captain Erik Schouten headed impeccably, after Mühren had extended a corner by Mees Hoedemakers.
The Cambuur players celebrate the title in the Kitchen Champion Division.
After the break, Cambuur loosened the reins a bit and Young AZ was given the opportunity to come out under the pressure of the champion. That resulted in the 54th and 57th minute in goals from the talented and only eighteen-year-old Yusuf Barasi. De Jong made several changes in the final phase. Mitchel Paulissen returned to Cambuur after two months of injuries, while Ragnar Oratmangoen left for the fit midfielder. The visiting team did not let Young AZ come back any further and after the final whistle there was a lot of celebration by players and trainers.
De Graafschap – Almere City FC 2-2
De Graafschap was therefore unable to keep Cambuur from the championship on Friday evening. And that while the team from Doetinchem still had a perfect start on their own field. Elmo Lieftink went for his own success in the third minute and to his joy he saw a hard shot with the outside left into the goal via the bottom of the crossbar. However, the lead was not extended by De Graafschap and in the injury time of the first half, the revived Almere City managed to level up. A long ball ended up at Elias Sörensen via Thomas Verheydt and the Danish attacker only remained icy calm in front of goalkeeper Rody de Boer: 1-1.
Thomas Verheydt is happy after his goal against De Graafschap.
After an hour of play, it was Verheydt who was at the end of an attack by Almere City. The physically strong striker was alert to a cross from Daniël Breedijk and then outwitted De Boer with a hard and accurate header. De Graafschap did not give up in the final phase and via Melvin Platje they were close to the equalizer in the 72nd minute. However, the attacker was unable to hit from a rebound. Well into injury time the 2-2 came after all, via Jesse Schuurman. The midfielder hit in the fifth minute of injury time. A very important goal, because De Graafschap remains six points above Almere City, with three games to go. Promotion seems to be a matter of time for this The Super Farmers, who took on champion Cambuur on April 30.
Jong Ajax – NEC 0-1
The U21 team from Amsterdam delivered a disappointing performance in-house on Friday-evening. In the first half hour there were still several opportunities for both teams, but goals were not scored. In minute 34, the spell was broken by 36-year-old Édgar Barreto. The header of the veteran from Paraguay was too powerful for goalkeeper Daan Reiziger. Young Ajax remained offensively impotent and fifteen minutes before the end it all got worse for the team of coach Mitchell van der Gaag. Neraysho Kasanwirjo pulled Jonathan Okita down and received his second yellow card for this. NEC kept looking for the liberating 0-2, which ultimately did not materialize. Nevertheless, the three points went to Nijmegen.
Kian Fitz Jim and Bart van Rooij duel for the ball.
FC Den Bosch – Roda JC Kerkrade 7-0
The home team started energetically with Roda JC, as the opening goal was already found in the eighth minute of play. A mediocre kick from goalkeeper Jan Hoekstra ended up at the feet of Ringo Meerveld, who then served Jizz Hornkamp. The striker lashed out from outside the box and found the opening goal with a nice shot from the bottom of the crossbar. Exactly eighty seconds later it was already 2-0. Romano Postema was given free passage from the right side of the box to the penalty spot, after which the right striker fired in hard in the far corner. Before the end of the first quarter it even became 3-0; this time it was Steven van der Heijden who hit goal on a pass from Soufyan Ahannach.
What a shot by Jizz Hornkamp! ?? pic.twitter.com/iSlZCGPT4W
– ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) April 23, 2021
The complete offday of Roda JC was further exploited by the home team in the remainder of the match. Five minutes before the half-time signal, Ahannach scored: after a pass from Hornkamp, the midfielder finished in the short corner: 4-0. The words in coach Jurgen Streppel’s dressing room did not have the desired effect, as the scoreboard already indicated 5-0 two minutes after the break. Ahannach gave Postema an opportunity not to be missed. The 6-0 also came in the name of Postema, who scored his third goal of the evening on a pass from Hornkamp. The final chord was played by Hornkamp: he convincingly nodded in the 7-0 from a cross by Mats Deijl.
Star Jizz Hornkamp jubilantly walks away after his great goal against Roda JC Kerkrade.
Jong FC Utrecht – Go Ahead Eagles 0-1
The Utrecht U21 team had little to say in-house before the break against opportunistic play by Go Ahead. Still, it took a long time for the visitors to open the score. After fifteen minutes of play, Go Ahead had already had two good opportunities through Bradly van Hoeven and Sam Beukema, but both saw their respective bets turned by goalkeeper Fabian de Keijzer. On the stroke of half time, the club from Deventer found the 0-1. It was Giannis Botos who fired from the rebound of a shot by Martijn Berden through the inside of the post. After the break, Jong FC Utrecht recovered, but due to the lack of accuracy in the completion, the 0-1 remained until the final whistle.
The players of Go Ahead Eagles celebrate the only goal against Jong FC Utrecht.
FC Dordrecht – MVV Maastricht 0-1
As attractive as the matches on the other pitches were, there was so little to do for the fans of Dordrecht and MVV. The biggest chance of the first company was scored ten minutes before half time by Sven Blummel, who lashed out on behalf of the visitors but saw goalkeeper Liam Bossin make a beautiful save. The helpless Dordrecht also took the edge off after the break, but an almost flawless performance by Bossim kept the home team going for a long time. In the final second went the Sheep Heads Still head down: it was Blummel who put the 0-1 final score on the scoreboard. Due to the big victory of Roda JC and its own defeat, Dordrecht is the new last player; MVV occupies twelfth position.
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