Spanjaardslaan, Tweede Divisie, 11/10/25
Me 359
Koninklijke Haarlemsche Football Club
Founded – 1879
Nickname – Koninklijke HFC
Honours – KNVB Cup – 1904, 1913 and 1915. Pre-official league establishment unofficial league championships – 1889/90, 1892/92 and 1894/95.
Random Fact – HFC hold the Dutch Cup record score of 25 v 0 when they defeated VVV (Amsterdam) in 1903/04
I have been extremely fortunate over the years with the perk of fitba matches via work. I reckon I must be heading for 45-50 matches attended on my travels through my profession . Today was totally different from usual though. With an eight hour layover at Schiphol(I don’t book my flights) there was no way I was looking at rotting in the Heineken Bar, this for three reasons. One, I would be very much pished, two, there was no Aberdeen to watch on RedTV and finally, three the Heineken Bar is still shut for renovation.A swift internet search immediately threw up a fantastic piece of heritage at me. It turns out the oldest club in the Netherlands are a stones throw from Schiphol. Situated just 10 miles away in Haarlem (that is 10 miles from front door of the airport and not the perimeter fence of the truly gargantuan hub) HFC or Koninklijke Haarlemsche Football Club were facing Kozakken Boys in the third tier. The visitors with a cool name it has to be said. The moniker stems from the Don Cossack troops who were the battalion that liberated Werkendam from French in 1813. This making the name even cooler in my eyes.
After a swift move through Schiphol I ended up arriving that early in Haarlem(maybe one hour forty before kick off)I had walked in without paying. This after being informed I was beyond the “little ticket house” at the gate by the barmaid in the clubhouse. As I found the “house” I was met by a fantastically nice guy doing the deed. One who was surprised to see an Aberdeen fan and also surprised I had come back to pay him when I would have got away with not doing so. He was a really sound guy and if you are reading, nice to meet you. A good start to the trip . One thing that maybe wasnt so good was the club are currently, like the Heineken Bar back at the airport, renovating. This meaning HFC are not currently playing on their pitch but on one of the back pitches, complete with temporary scaffold for stands. Not a huge issue as it means in future I can come back and see the new clubhouse and stand once complete.
Prior to Covid, Dutch football was a big thing in my life with 18 clubs visited prior to Haarlem. This covering Eredivisie, Eerste Divisie and the old Hoofdklasse(now the Vierde Divisie). I had never been to the 3rd tier which is where amateurism starts in the Dutch Pyramid. Today that was to change. I didn’t not know what quality to expect. I couldn’t even hazard a guess. What I was treated to was two pretty level sides. One having a half each. This with both teams with a few stand out players. As the game kicked off 15 minutes or so late it exploded into action with Kozakken Boys taking the lead in 40 seconds when Jordy Thomassen was picked out at the back post to finish a cross which really was unmissable due to the poor defending that preceded. His left foot was not turning this up. What a start for the away side. HFC really should have been equalising immediately when Neils Donker was sent clean through by the best pass I have seen this season. Flip Klomp sent the ball 25-30 yards through and over a host of bodies to find his striker right on his toe. But the following effort went agonisingly over the bar. What a goal this could have been. Donker then saw another big chance when he was thwarted by a tidy save from KB keeper Joey Koorevaar. Kozakken Boys had their own big chances too and both falling to Carlito Fermina. The first when he cannoned an effort from ten yards which HFC keeper Mitchel Michaelis could only throw two instinctive hands at to block given the ferocity of the shot. His next was arguably a bigger chance where he could have put the ball anywhere but his effort was tame and straight at the keeper. On the keeper, this boy can yell. What a set of pipes he has on him, handy being the captain.
HT 0 v 1
I would say KB shaded the first half. The second was a lot more in the favour of the home side, although there was not much going on early doors in the second period. One thing that was clear was the previously mentioned Fermina was a tidy and tricky player. His team mate at right back Frenk Keukens was also a very good player. He almost had a throw back look to his style of play. He actually reminded me alot of Nicky Devlin at Aberdeen. HFC were knocking on the door for the equaliser. A few half chances passed before striker Delano Ledan had a clear shot on goal, but he didn’t get the required power on the ball making Koorevaar’s job easy. This was soon followed by an old fashioned stramash in the box, one of those multi effort jobs where the defence just cant clear. This culminating in Fermina being in the right place at the right time to clear a goal bound effort off the line. HFC were pushing but could not find the equaliser. In the last minute they thought they had it when Ledan was in but a fine piece of goalkeeping awareness made sure the three points were heading to Werkendam. Which they did as I headed in a different direction to catch my flight to Paris.
A very worthwhile off the cuff idea, 5 1/2 years after my last visit to a Dutch club (Vitesse). With these daft flights booked in future for work trips it definitely wont be that long until I am back embracing Dutch fitba once again. I wonder if Werkendam is doable in the time frame?
If you ever have an excessive layover at Schiphol on a Saturday afternoon, check out HFC’s fixture list as it is worth the short journey. This will definitely be an option for me again in future, this so I can see the what the building site turns into.
Entrance – €10 programme included
Attendance – 309 (Rough head count)
Pie – €7, cheese and ham panini
Pint – €3.25 Heineken, HFC Clubhouse
FITBAWBAG 