Hoofdklasse Men Round 8: Bloemendaal Host Den Bosch, Oranje-Rood Face Amsterdam in Top-of-the-Table Sunday
Three teams, 19 points each, and Sunday sorts them out.
Amsterdam and Den Bosch sit joint top of the men’s Hoofdklasse on 19 points from seven games, both unbeaten. Oranje-Rood joined them on Thursday night, beating Kampong 2-1 in Utrecht in a rearranged fixture to move to 19 as well. Now the schedule throws the top three straight at each other.
The pick of the round is at ‘t Kopje, where Bloemendaal host Den Bosch. Bloemendaal are fourth on 14 points and Den Bosch haven’t lost yet. But Bloemendaal at home are a different animal. They’ve already put nine past Schaerweijde this season and only lost once all campaign. Den Bosch, meanwhile, have the league’s top scorer in Timo Boers, who has 11 goals already, eight of them from penalty corners. If Bloemendaal can keep him quiet, this one is right there for them.
Then there’s Oranje-Rood against Amsterdam in Eindhoven. Oranje-Rood are the form team nobody wants to play. They haven’t lost a regular league game in 32 matches, and Thursday’s win at Kampong was their second top-of-the-table scalp in a week. Struan Walker has nine goals for them this season and keeps finding ways to hurt teams. Amsterdam have the best defence in the league, eight conceded in seven games, and Mustapha Cassiem has seven goals of his own. Something has to give.
The rest of the card
Kampong have to pick themselves up fast. Thursday’s defeat was their second in a top-of-the-table clash this season after losing 3-2 at Pinoke, and now they travel to HDM, who sit tenth on four points and are scrapping for every point they can get. Kampong are still fifth on 13 points and very much in the play-off race, but another slip here and the top four starts to pull away.
Pinoke host defending champions Rotterdam, and what a strange season the champions are having. Rotterdam are eighth on six points with five defeats from seven games. They can score, 19 goals already, but they’ve shipped 20. Pinoke are seventh on nine points and drew 2-2 with Bloemendaal earlier in the season, so they won’t be overawed.
At the bottom, it’s winless against winless. Schaerweijde host Tilburg with both sides on zero points from seven games. Schaerweijde have conceded 28, Tilburg 29. Somebody’s season starts on Sunday. Klein Zwitserland, ninth on five points, host SCHC, sixth on 11, in the other game of the round.
Six games, and by Sunday evening the three-way tie at the top will look very different. That’s what this round is for.
Sunday 8 November, Round 8: Bloemendaal v Den Bosch; Oranje-Rood v Amsterdam; HDM v Kampong; Klein Zwitserland v SCHC; Pinoke v Rotterdam; Schaerweijde v Tilburg.
