On a very hot Saturday the Hollandse FC took up the match against Brewerkz. The sun was burning mercilessly on the players, but that did not prevent a handsomely looking Dutch team (thanks to the new sponsors Crown, Deutsche Bank and IHC) from started off well. Compared to the previous games the team was seriously rejuvenated, one may even say renovated, with youngsters Philip, Jamie, Gavin and Daniel all selected by coach Lou to start in the basis team.

The defense was lead again by Arjan, with Rogier and Gavin cementing the Brewerkz wingers. Philip and Stephan were the key midfield players with Jamie bringing in creativity from the left and Rene and Winnie acting as vacuum cleaners. Ard and Daniel were the strikers in coach Lou’s 3-5-2 system. Marco was again back in his old trade of goalkeeper.

The first half hour the Dutch delivered a solid performance and both teams were equally strong. After 30 minutes, an unnecessary loss of ball by Ard lead to a arrow-speed counter  by Brewerkz, resulting in 0-1. Counterattacks by the Dutch lead to some goal opportunities, but the Brewerkz keeper could not be made shivering nor shaking. The morale and spirit of the Dutch team continued to be high, even after Brewerkz scored 0-2 just before half-time, a goal that should have been disapproved as the ball clearly exceeded the by-line before the decisive cross was giving into the goal area.

In the second half the Dutch defense continued its brave battle against the fast and strong Brewerkz wingers. A cross of Winnie lead Ard to believe that he was Marco van Basten, but he clearly was not. A brilliant action of Jamie put Winnie in pole position, but also his goal attempt could not scare off the Brewerkz goalkeeper. Despite having lost one player due to a justified red card, halfway the second half the solid Dutch goalkeeper Marco could not avoid being defeated for the third time with a well-aimed lob. Still the Dutch team did not give up, but good shots from Philip and Stephan were just off-target. The average years of experience on the pitch quadrupled when Hans and Lou replaced Rene and Jamie, but even that could not change the course of Cosmo League history.

Just before the final whistle Arjan crowned a solid performance with the Dutch first self-made goal in the season. Building on today’s match we should be confident that many more of such goals will follow for the Hollandse FC, unlike Arjan’s in the opponent’s goal. The team demonstrated a good spirit and – thanks to talents Philip, Jamie, Daniel and Gavin – more creativity and stamina.

Congratulations to Brewerkz for a game well-played.