Our journey to the north went very well. The train did what it was supposed to do, run on time. And that was a good thing. When we arrived at the Heerenveen stadium after a fifteen minute walk, the supporters were standing in rows in front of the entrance. Fortunately, there were no annoying turnstiles or tourniquets. There were stewards who manually scanned the tickets and it all went smoothly.
Just before the Frisian anthem started, we were in our seats. The visitors’ section was also well filled with over 650 FC Utrecht supporters. After three minutes, FC Utrecht had already scored 0-1. Romeny was the cold finisher again. That promised something. FC Utrecht got off to a good start. Seven minutes later, the second goal was scored. Aaronson shot the ball perfectly into the net. But then there was the VAR. Toornstra miraculously appeared to be three centimetres offside. Of course, I looked through my red-and-white glasses, but it was ridiculous to disallow this goal.
FC Utrecht was off the track and Heerenveen smelled the chance, but we have Barkas. Still a reliable and above all excellent goalkeeper. Luuk Brouwers could not get his revenge. We went towards half-time. Our friend Iqbal had another nice record in losing the ball. He may well be an excellent footballer, but we have not seen much of him yet. Then there is David Min. He toils and ploughs with the best intentions, but it has not been granted to him yet.
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Second half
In the second half Heerenveen stepped it up a gear, while FC Utrecht took a step back. A shot on goal by Heerenveen exploded on the crossbar. Barkas had no chance. David Min went one-on-one with the keeper, but he was illegally brought down. But referee Makkelie waved it away. The VAR also remained silent. According to FC Utrecht it was a free kick and a red card for the Heerenveen player. We are done with the VAR if it continues like this. It is time for a thorough analysis.
It was time for yellow cards and substitutions. FC Utrecht had nothing more to say. Heerenveen all the more. So it was a matter of waiting for the equalizer. Ohio came in and we saw a much better striker than Min. Hopefully Ohio would be fully fit soon. Eight minutes before the end came the equalizer. Unnecessary but deserved. And then there was the substitution of Iqbal just before the end. We kept a point at the final whistle.
On to Breda next Saturday. The tickets for the FC Utrecht supporters were sold out very quickly again. But let’s see where we end up in the Rat Verlegh Stadium. It can be haunted there. But despite that, I’m counting on three points. Learn from the second half against Heerenveen. After all, a donkey usually doesn’t stumble over the same stone twice. Except for the VAR!