Amstelveen - 3 to go, well maybe

The fourth last round of the season saw us line up against fourth placed Amstelveen.  The last time we met it turned into quite a contest with us only sneaking through for the win in the final minutes of the match and with the temperature at a rather warm 28 degrees the days contest was always going to be tough. 

We started the game fairly well as per most, however the early loss of Derk after he decided to headbut another guys stick put a bit of a dent into our midfield staff.  Im not sure if it was a direct result however it was soon after this we went down by one in the first 20 mins of the match  True to form however we kept on figting and nailed two quick goals to put ourselves in front 2-1 going into the break and by this time you could start to see the heat taking its toll on both sides.

The second half didnt play quite as well as the first.  Seeing these dutch guys struggle in the heat is a little entrataining  you kind of take it for granted being used ot playing in such temperatures, but i suppose when the temperature gets down near zero, i do understand the pain...as such. That pretty much summed up the whole second half.  As both teams tired the field slowly spead out and the gaps between the lines became larger and larger.  Unfortunately a small lapse allowed Amstelveen to snag a cheeky goal from the base line and draw it level 2-2.    At this point the tension grew substantially and we managed to play well fighting hard, only to unluckily fall short of finding the winner.  hitting the post no less than three times in the final 5 mins.  Too add to the pain Pete (speedy) managed to get one of the softed yellow card i have ever seen, to bring his tally to three and ensure he would miss the next game against Haarlem.  frustrating for him however maybe a blessing giving him a clean sheet with the playoffs in the coming weeks. All in all it was frustrating but such is life.

Overall the draw set us back into outright second 2 points behind Lieden with three to go. Although the Championship may be just out of reach, we have been granted a second chance should we finish second with KNHB announcing a playoff series to fill an additional two OVK spots for next year after the merging of two clubs and the withdrawal of another.    It still gives us plenty to play for hopefully we can still achieve that promotion.