Almere City FC has drawn for the fifth time in a row. In the Mandemakers Stadium in Waalwijk, the clash against RKC ends without goals: 0-0.
Once upon a time… there was a newly promoted team from Almere. With seven rounds to go, the team can take a virtual bite out of the points pie needed to maintain themselves in the Eredivisie. The team can do that in Waalwijk. Exactly 6.5 kilometers away from opponent RKC are the dreamy entrance gates of the Efteling, a world full of wonder.
That amazement will not spread to the Mandemakers Stadium this Thursday evening. The fairy tale book can be thrown in the trash immediately, but it does have a golden pencil. It is a fairy tale that does not appeal to the imagination and cannot grab the audience’s attention, but it does score another point.
Almere City FC cannot get the better of RKC in the Mandemakers Stadium for the entire match. ‘Lange Jan’ Samuel Radlinger keeps Almere City FC at a zero in the first fifteen minutes by making a great save on a Waalwijker who broke through and – moments later – with a devastating shot in his own box. One of the few Almere chances comes from Joey Jacobs, who shoots just wide with a low and sharp shot. The same shot from David Min goes just wide on the other side.
The second half starts as a rollercoaster ride for Almere City FC. Chris Lokesa is the yellow-blue attacker who opens the second half with a whopper of a chance. Face to face with Radlinger, however, he fails to give the home team the lead. Mats Seuntjens is also just not involved in terms of the goal. This is the part of the roller coaster where Almere City FC does not venture into the front row.
Just when RKC starts to believe in the fairy tale of a three-pointer, the proverbial elephant with the big snout suddenly appears. In the last ten minutes it is Almere City FC that suddenly claims the full spoils. An unlikely ricochet through the back of one of the RKC defenders exploded hard on the post, but ultimately caused no damage. Not much else happens during the six minutes of injury time, so the spectacle position is maintained.
Almere City FC now has two full days to prepare for the next match. Another matchup is scheduled for Sunday. Almere City FC will then play away in the Adelaarshorst against Go Ahead Eagles. Ticket sales for that match have now closed.
Photo’s Ron Baltus / sportsshots.pro
