PFB ON TOUR: QUICK : SV OSS '20

A warm early autumn afternoon drew the good people of The Hague out of their homes and toward Sportpark Nieuw-Hanenburg, home of HVCV Quick, for their Derde Divisie match against SV Oss '20 on September 20. Both teams had enjoyed an unbeaten start to the season, with Quick gaining four points from their first two matches, while Oss '20 had won both of theirs.

Before kick-off, there was an impeccably-marked minute's silence in memory of two members of Quick's staff, Paul van de Beek and Patrick Berns, who had sadly died in the days before the match. The game itself started with both teams trying to get forward during the first ten minutes, but the final passes from both teams were, more often than not, found wanting.

Quick's Frank van der Heijden only just failed to connect with a cross which, for once, evaded the visitors' defence, whilst Jos Peltzer came close for Oss '20 with a shot which flashed just wide of the post. The first shot on target came from the away side after a quarter of an hour; Julian Calor embarked on a run into the penalty-area and unleashed a fierce shot, which Quick keeper Jari Puister did well to save at his near post.

The deadlock was broken by the home side two minutes later, when van der Heijden rose head and shoulders above a congested near post - so densely populated was it that it made a mockery of social distancing rules - to head in Elano Yegen's corner. 

There was plenty of toing and froing in the minutes following van der Heijden's opener, but the closest either team came to scoring was when Tim Waterink's header almost drew Oss '20 level after 27 minutes; he should have at least got it on target as he rose unopposed to powerfully head Peltzer's cross just wide of the post. Van der Heijden was proving to be Quick's danger-man as the home side began to impose themselves on the match, half-volleying just wide from the edge of the box on the half-hour.

Suddenly, though, it was the visitors who had most of the best chances as the half drew to a close; first, Tom Pijnenberg almost took advantage of a hospital header from defender Pepijn van Zwieten de Blom inside his own penalty-area, but Pijnenberg's subsequent half-volley was well saved by Puister. Then, Waterink turned Quick's defenders inside-out as he attempted to carve out enough space to send in a shot; he succeeded, but Puister again did well to stop the shot. 

Rachid Bouyaouzan had a shot blocked at the other end before, in first-half injury-time, Oss '20 substitute Jari van Ginkel headed a corner wide when it looked easier to score. Quick supporters could breathe a sigh of relief as their team headed into the break a goal to the good.

Bouyaouzan began the second half with a solo run through the Oss '20 defence, but the end product unfortunately dazzled less than the run, when he shot straight at keeper Rick van der Leest. A second goal came on 51 minutes; unfortunately for the home support, it was scored by Oss '20's Waterink, who, unchallenged, gleefully headed a cross from the left-hand side past Puister and into the bottom corner for the equaliser.

It was the beginning of a wretched 15 minutes or so for Quick, and for Bouyaouzan in particular. Very shortly afterwards, he was booked for dissent (the first yellow card of the afternoon), and, on the hour mark was, in this observer's opinion at least, crudely fouled in the centre-circle. The referee thought differently and allowed play to continue, and the visitors took advantage of the confusion by staging a quick counter-attack, which was finished off by Peltzer to give his side the lead.

Bouyaouzan had received prolonged treatment following the goal and was about to be substituted when he expressed his opinion once too often for referee Schaper's liking; he was shown his second yellow card. A needless sending-off which did the home side no good at all.

Tom Pijnenberg almost extended the Brabanders' lead with a quarter of an hour to go when he sprinted through the Quick defence on the left of the penalty-area, but his shot from an acute angle struck the post and rebounded away to safety.

A promising move by the hosts led to a delightful ball into the box from Ronaldo Lima Duarte Lopes which reached van der Heijden, but he suddenly stopped, thinking that a team-mate was in a better position behind him, and the ball travelled across the penalty-area and out of harm's way.

A late Quick cavalry charge in the third minute of injury-time came to nothing, but it led to an Oss '20 counter-attack which saw three against two; however, a poor pass led to a bit of scrappy play and, eventually, a corner-kick. 

Two minutes later came the final nail in Quick's coffin when Oss '20 broke again; substitute Tony de Groot - who had replaced Tom Pijnenberg with ten minutes left - stormed down the left, eased past the last defender and scored from a reasonably tight angle to secure the points for the visitors.

It was a very measured display from the visitors, who always looked dangerous on the attack and, for the most part, secure in defence. Tom Pijnenberg, Peltzer and Waterink were impressive going forward, whilst Bram van de Rande and Bram Eltink marshalled things well at the back. Quick played well for long periods, and grievously missed Bouyaouzan after his sending-off. Van der Heijden was a constant threat upfront, and Puister had a good game between the sticks. Youngsters Elano Yegen - who played very well, especially in the first half - and Tyrese Asante also deserve a honourable mention. Positives aplenty for the four-times KNVB beker winners, but the points went home with the Brabanders, who extended their winning streak.

QUICK: 1 Jari PUISTER; 2 Jaap FISCHER, 4 Kai VAN HESE, 5 Pepijn VAN ZWIETEN DE BLOM, 7 Marc BOSHOFF, 8 Philip KOUWENHOVEN, 9 Frank VAN DER HEIJDEN, 10 Rachid BOUYAOUZAN, 12 Rick BURGERING (11 Ronaldo LIMA DUARTE LOPES), 21 Tyrese ASANTE (18 Bailey MEES)

SUBS (unused): 22 Tim JANSSEN; 16 Sam ZEEMAN, 19 Thomas VAN HAAFTEN

SV OSS '20: 1 Rick VAN DER LEEST, 3 Joep VAN DE RANDE, 4 Bram ELTINK, 5 Joep ENGELEN, 6 Bob ZONNENBERG, 8 Brian CAMPMAN, 10 Tom PIJNENBERG (9 Tony DE GROOT), 12 Dirk PIJNENBERG, 15 Jos PELTZER, 16 Julian CALOR (7 Joep VAN DER VELDEN), 19 Tim WATERINK 

SUBS (unused): 1 Joep HOEFNAGELS; 14 Hidde VAN DIJK, 17 Jari VAN GINKEL, 23 Adam SESAY

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POSTSCRIPT: Quick followed up their defeat with two draws, 1:1 away to Heerlen side Groene Ster, and a 2:2 draw at home to HSC '21 from Haaksbergen, before the Derde Divisie fell victim to the latest round of Corona virus restrictions. This resulted in their First Round KNVB Beker match against NEC Nijmegen, which was due to be played on 27 October, being put back to 2 December. 

The same fate befell Oss '20, who are scheduled to play Katwijk on the same date. Since their win in The Hague, they suffered two league defeats on the trot - 3:1 at home to OFC and 4:0 away to ADO '20, before beating Koninklijke HFC 1:0 away in the Second preliminary round of the KNVB Beker and drawing 3:3 at home against UNA in their last game before football action was mothballed. 

Since the above defeat to Oss '20, Quick have slumped to twelfth in the table, while Oss '20 have gone down to fifth.