With a fun and also educational pro week in the legs, the mutual brotherly battle was on the program today. It had been looked forward to for weeks and now it was finally here. In a lovely autumn sunshine, the crowd was packed. Unfortunately both teams had to deal with personnel problems. For the E1 Yassin was still suffering from the flu. And also the E2 was not 100% fit. Bryan still had knee problems, but was ready to play. And in the warming up there was another setback for the E2. Tijn also had to go in early with a painful knee. Fortunately for him he was able to rejoin the E2, although not completely fit. Referee Bert was also in the mood as he whistled for the start of the match a little earlier than usual. The E1 immediately went on the attack. On the right Joey went forward, his action could only be stopped by a foul. The awarded free kick was curled just wide of the goal by Niels. Both teams were very evenly matched, which led to exciting one-on-one battles all over the field. After six minutes Arne crossed the field. He then had two shots. His first right footed shot was well blocked by Sem, the second left footed shot went wide via Tijn. The corner taken by Joey was headed just over by Niels. The E2 also showed that they had some great individual moves. Halfway through the first half, Davy started a nice action on the left side of the field. His shot was well turned away by Pepijn. Jay put the ball from the corner ready for the head of Joop, but his header splattered on the post. Also five minutes later Joop was unlucky. He got free on the left, but his effort went wide. The game continued to go up and down. Both teams did not seem to suffer from the heavy training week. The first half continued at a murderous pace. With five minutes left to play, the strong playing Benjamin seemed to score the opening goal. However, his shot was skilfully defused by Pepijn. On the counter attack it was Gregory who shot the ball just over the goal. At the moment that everyone thought the score would be 0-0, Gregory went forward on the left side of the pitch. He saw Koen standing free, but instead of shooting himself he saw Joey in an even better position. He took advantage of the opportunity (0-1). In the same minute the E1 seemed to double the score. Niels conquered the ball in midfield, with a nice cross he found Gregory. As Kyan narrowed his goal well, he pushed the ball at the wrong side of the post for the E1. Just before half time the E2 also got a good chance. A short corner kick by Jay found Joop. His shot ended up in the side netting.
Also after halftime the first chance was for the E2. From the kick-off Davy broke through on the left. With a well-aimed shot he tried to surprise Pepijn in the short corner, but with a cat-like reflex Pepijn managed to tap the ball out of the corner. Then it was the E1's turn again. Gregory had moved out to the right side. His tailored cross came to Joey, who took the ball on his shoe in one go. With a sublime save, Kyan managed to stop the ball. The corner that followed was taken by Niels on the right side of the pitch. Without anyone coming close, he turned the ball brilliantly into the far corner (0-2). Yet the game was not played. The E2 straightened up again and immediately forced a number of chances. A vicious shot by Sem went just wide. A vicious shot by Benjamin only just went wide. There was also an opportunity for Joop. After Davy broke free, he gave the ball to Jay who again found Joop. His header went just over the goal. The E1 did not seem impressed. They continued to build calmly and look for the free man. So too in the 35th minute. Koen and Rico passed the ball to each other until a free man was found. Via Arne, Joey was found on the right side of the pitch. His tight cross found Gregory. Unfortunately for him, he popped the ball onto the crossbar. A minute later it was a copy of the previous attack. Again it started with Koen and Rico. Now it was Arne who played to Gregory. With a tight shot he put the 0-3 on the scoreboard. Still the E2 did not give up. Again it was Benjamin who shook off his attackers. Unfortunately his cross was just too sharp for Joop who came a toe length too short to work the ball into the goal. That same Joop had a chance barely a minute later. This time it was Pepijn who managed to save. At the other end of the field it was Kyan who kept Arne from scoring a goal. Five minutes before time the E2 got what they deserved. After a nice action by Jay the ball came to Davy, who shot the ball hard into the goal and scored the well-deserved goal (1-3). For a moment it seemed to get exciting when Joop went to Pepijn from a counter. But again the goalkeeper was in the way. In the last minute the E1 wanted to bring the margin back to three, but shots by Arne and Gregory did not find a goal. After which the referee, Bert, played a good game. Satisfied all spectators could go home, because they had seen a splendid match of two teams who are not inferior to each other and rightly are at the top of the league.

Report with thanks to Kees Raaijmakers