© Bart Borgerhoff
Willem II returns to the Eredivisie after an absence of two years. On Friday, on the 37th and penultimate match day in the Dutch second division, the Tilburg team only needed a draw against Dordrecht (1-1). The Roda JC fans also thought that the promotion had been won and that led to a ‘painful’ storming of the field.
READ ALSO. Burned in his own country, but still the ‘King of Tilburg’: how Peter Maes is held in high esteem by Willem II
The team of coach Peter Maes missed its first chance for promotion a week earlier after a 1-1 draw against FC Groningen. The second attempt, against Dordrecht, was successful. Dordrecht took the lead in the first half through a goal by Shiloh ‘t Zand (27.) and was then close to 2-0, but Willem II goalkeeper Joshua Smits prevented a hit by our compatriot Dylan Mbayo.
After the break, Dordrecht goalkeeper Luca Plogmann played a leading role. The German stopped Ringo Meerveld from scoring and saved a penalty from Jeredy Hilterman. Willem II pressed, but it seemed to remain 1-0. Michael De Leeuw (90.+3) equalized for Willem II in extra time, where Rob Nizet and Matthias Verreth were given a starting place by Maes.
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The 59-year-old Maes has been working as trainer of the club from Tilburg since September 2023. In Belgium, the Limburger was active in the past as a coach at Verbroedering Geel, KV Mechelen, Sporting Lokeren, Racing Genk, Lommel, STVV and Beerschot, where he was dismissed in September 2021. Since then he has been without an employer. In recent years, Maes was also involved in the Clean Hands file, the fraud investigation in Belgian football.
The promotion party was already in full swing in Tilburg.
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Premature joy at Roda
The number 2 is also promoted to the Eredivisie and it looked for a long time that Roda JC would secure that position on the penultimate match day. Groningen, Roda’s only remaining challenger, trailed Telstar for more than 90 minutes, but deep into added time the 1-1 came out of the blue. However, the Roda fans thought that the loot had already been won and celebrated the ‘premature’ promotion by storming the field. Painful. On the final match day, Roda JC plays on the field of… FC Groningen.
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– 2024-05-04 02:20:32
