'It was on repeat for us'

Siep Engelen


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NAC Breda reached the semi-finals of the play-offs for promotion to the Eredivisie on Friday at the expense of Roda JC. Afterwards there was dismay among the Limburgers, who had already wrongly celebrated the 'promotion' two weeks ago. At NAC, confidence in a good outcome to the season has suddenly returned.

Two weeks ago, Roda supporters ran onto the field en masse to celebrate the promotion to the Eredivisie, were it not for the fact that Thom van Bergen on behalf of FC Groningen scored the equalizer against Telstar in the very last minute, which meant that it came down to the final round of play in the Kitchen Champion Division. Groningen won 2-0 at home against Roda, meaning that the Limburgers were sentenced to play in the play-offs.

Things also went terribly wrong in those play-offs. In the first match against NAC, which barely qualified for the play-offs as number 8, Roda lost 3-1 without a chance. The final blow came this Friday with a 0-5 in favor of the people of Breda. Afterwards, Roda was very disappointed.

Sami Ouaissa, one of the trendsetters this season at Roda, had to be consoled on the field after the final whistle and also in front of the cameras of ESPN NEC's new acquisition did not keep it dry. “This is difficult. I've been here since I was five and a half. I wouldn't have wanted it to end like this.”

There will be a farewell to the selection and staff on Tuesday, after which Ouaissa will pack his bags for his move to Nijmegen. “Of course I will think about this for a while, but after that the focus has to go to NEC. I hope they haven't seen the last three games there,” Ouaissa concludes with a smile.

Roda coach Bas Sibum, who expressed his complete confidence in his team until the end, was also disappointed afterwards. “We lost 0-5, we were really cut and shaved. For the rest, we have to shut up very quickly and start fresh again.” For Roda it will be the seventh season in a row in the Kitchen Champion Division.

Kemper's response

Boy Kemper was one of the standouts on the NAC side in the diptych. The defender beautifully made it 0-1 on Friday, which ultimately meant the final blow for Roda. The left back came up just before half time and shot the ball, where goalkeeper Koen Bucker stepped out for a cross, hard into the short corner.

“I didn't even see my fellow players standing free,” Kemper says honestly. “When I got that ball there, I immediately thought: I'm just going to shoot it into the short corner. The goalkeeper had a day at the casino today, he gambled, but he had a good time,” he laughs.

Sibum's words earlier this week also motivated the residents of Breda, Kemper confirms. Roda's coach stated that his team's late 3-1 in Breda had shot them to the next round. “It was on repeat with us,” says Kemper NOS. “That only made us even more eager to win today.”

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