Game 6 – Dindoa 4 vs. DOS ’46 4
The first week of October has brought little change to our daily lives in The Netherlands. Coops and Cam have continued to hone their fruit picking skills (luckily avoiding any rain) while I have been honing my Dutch. So far the temperatures have been quite mild although we anticipate the mercury will drop significantly over the next couple of months. Our house in Dieverbrug has a thermometer that goes down to minus 40 degrees centigrade! While it is still nice playing Korfball outside, we are excited about moving to the indoor competition in a couple of weeks as this brings with it a whole new club dynamic.
This week we were playing away to Dindoa 4 from Ermelo, about one hour by car from Nijeveen. This time we were traveling in two-car convoy as Niek had his parent’s people mover, the kiwis acquiring the ‘gimp’ seats in the back as we have the shortest legs. Both Coops and I noted this was quite roomy compared to being squeezed into a minivan with 14 Lao locals (16 person total) on winding mountain roads or when we had ten tourists in the back of a minivan in Thailand with packs stacked to head height for six hours without a stop!
The road trip itself took us down the usual Dutch highways with 120km speed limits, passing through pastoral countryside and a few pine forests. Take away the thatched roofed houses and add a mountainous background, it wouldn’t look too far off a road trip down State Highway 1 through the Canterbury Plains. Using the GPS in Coops’ phone to navigate our way through a myriad of roundabouts (the basis of the newly invented roundabout song you will read about later) we arrived at Dindoa to prepare for battle.
Unlike many of the other teams we had played so far, Dindoa consisted exclusively of younger players. This week our team was made of players that Coops and I were familiar with. Coops started in attack with Lisanne, Colin and Niek. I was in defence with Chris, Nienke and Tienike.
Things started positively enough for DOS ’46 in our attacking end. It seemed as though combinations were starting to gel, creating much better flow on attack with more shots and fewer errors. Dindoa began attacking with a clear goal of trying to score from around the post with running in shots or shots from the rebounder. Dindoa converted a couple of chances early to go ahead by two. We seem to be making a habit of getting behind in games early on. From here the first half progressed quite evenly. DOS ’46 relied on scoring from distance through Chris, Colin and Niek as Dindoa defended conservatively while our opponents tended to score most goals from close due to defensive lapses. For both Coops and I, the first half was solid without doing anything special. We have managed to eliminate the majority of errors we had been making in previous games but neither of us we able to convert any chances on attack. The home side led 8-7 at the break.
Throughout the first half it really felt like we had the better of the opposition, as we were able to create long attacks with multiple shots. To win this game all we needed to do was score, while trying to eliminate any short chances for Dindoa to score from.
The second half kicked off in ideal fashion for DOS ’46 as I scored from distance to level the scores and give us early momentum. After the change of ends it didn’t take long for the Niek and Colin to give us a two-goal advantage on the scoreboard. Dindoa then closed within one by scoring on their first attack following the change of ends. However, Chris continued a solid shooting performance and quickly extended the lead back to two goals. It was here the game stagnated dramatically. In defence, Nienke and Tienike were being made to work hard as their opponents tried to work free for running in shots. Chris continued a good all-round game, snaring a number of rebounds and Dindoa were very one-dimensional on attack and struggled to create any decent scoring chances. However Coops’ vak were also having a tough time on attack. They were creating plenty but the shots would not fall. One of Coops’ shots typifying this; after she attacked well to get free her shot saw the ball bounce around the korf three times before deciding it didn’t want to go home (Yes, Happy Gilmour reference). In all of this Dindoa scored a goal that was from a clearly defended position to close within one again to increase the tension in the game. Our attack maintained their composure, the boys continuing to secure rebounds and the girls ably assisting and putting up a few shots of their own. Finally, Niek slipped over while attack, then stood up to receive a pass and score the goal that would seal the match. With only two minutes left the scorers were not troubled further. Final score: 10-12 to DOS ’46 4.
Coops’ said after the game that while she is still not happy with the way she is playing she did feel better after this game due to a dramatically lower error count. Funnily enough, a sore shin had forced her to slow down on court a bit that probably contributed to a more solid game. In small steps we continue to improve through this Korfball Odyssey and we are certainly feeling much more enjoyment as a result of this progress as well.
After the game the lads in the team introduced me to a Griftaside (DOS ’46 supporters club) song. This led to Niek and I singing the “Roundabout Song” every time we went through a round about on the way home, probably much to the entertainment and annoyance of our teammates. The usual team stop at McD’s on the way home gave Coops’ and I chance to try the McKroket, a Dutch only invention. Neither of us are huge fans of Macca’s but we had to give this a go. When in the Netherlands…….
Tot ziens
Lorenzo
The first week of October has brought little change to our daily lives in The Netherlands. Coops and Cam have continued to hone their fruit picking skills (luckily avoiding any rain) while I have been honing my Dutch. So far the temperatures have been quite mild although we anticipate the mercury will drop significantly over the next couple of months. Our house in Dieverbrug has a thermometer that goes down to minus 40 degrees centigrade! While it is still nice playing Korfball outside, we are excited about moving to the indoor competition in a couple of weeks as this brings with it a whole new club dynamic.
This week we were playing away to Dindoa 4 from Ermelo, about one hour by car from Nijeveen. This time we were traveling in two-car convoy as Niek had his parent’s people mover, the kiwis acquiring the ‘gimp’ seats in the back as we have the shortest legs. Both Coops and I noted this was quite roomy compared to being squeezed into a minivan with 14 Lao locals (16 person total) on winding mountain roads or when we had ten tourists in the back of a minivan in Thailand with packs stacked to head height for six hours without a stop!
The road trip itself took us down the usual Dutch highways with 120km speed limits, passing through pastoral countryside and a few pine forests. Take away the thatched roofed houses and add a mountainous background, it wouldn’t look too far off a road trip down State Highway 1 through the Canterbury Plains. Using the GPS in Coops’ phone to navigate our way through a myriad of roundabouts (the basis of the newly invented roundabout song you will read about later) we arrived at Dindoa to prepare for battle.
Unlike many of the other teams we had played so far, Dindoa consisted exclusively of younger players. This week our team was made of players that Coops and I were familiar with. Coops started in attack with Lisanne, Colin and Niek. I was in defence with Chris, Nienke and Tienike.
Things started positively enough for DOS ’46 in our attacking end. It seemed as though combinations were starting to gel, creating much better flow on attack with more shots and fewer errors. Dindoa began attacking with a clear goal of trying to score from around the post with running in shots or shots from the rebounder. Dindoa converted a couple of chances early to go ahead by two. We seem to be making a habit of getting behind in games early on. From here the first half progressed quite evenly. DOS ’46 relied on scoring from distance through Chris, Colin and Niek as Dindoa defended conservatively while our opponents tended to score most goals from close due to defensive lapses. For both Coops and I, the first half was solid without doing anything special. We have managed to eliminate the majority of errors we had been making in previous games but neither of us we able to convert any chances on attack. The home side led 8-7 at the break.
Throughout the first half it really felt like we had the better of the opposition, as we were able to create long attacks with multiple shots. To win this game all we needed to do was score, while trying to eliminate any short chances for Dindoa to score from.
The second half kicked off in ideal fashion for DOS ’46 as I scored from distance to level the scores and give us early momentum. After the change of ends it didn’t take long for the Niek and Colin to give us a two-goal advantage on the scoreboard. Dindoa then closed within one by scoring on their first attack following the change of ends. However, Chris continued a solid shooting performance and quickly extended the lead back to two goals. It was here the game stagnated dramatically. In defence, Nienke and Tienike were being made to work hard as their opponents tried to work free for running in shots. Chris continued a good all-round game, snaring a number of rebounds and Dindoa were very one-dimensional on attack and struggled to create any decent scoring chances. However Coops’ vak were also having a tough time on attack. They were creating plenty but the shots would not fall. One of Coops’ shots typifying this; after she attacked well to get free her shot saw the ball bounce around the korf three times before deciding it didn’t want to go home (Yes, Happy Gilmour reference). In all of this Dindoa scored a goal that was from a clearly defended position to close within one again to increase the tension in the game. Our attack maintained their composure, the boys continuing to secure rebounds and the girls ably assisting and putting up a few shots of their own. Finally, Niek slipped over while attack, then stood up to receive a pass and score the goal that would seal the match. With only two minutes left the scorers were not troubled further. Final score: 10-12 to DOS ’46 4.
Coops’ said after the game that while she is still not happy with the way she is playing she did feel better after this game due to a dramatically lower error count. Funnily enough, a sore shin had forced her to slow down on court a bit that probably contributed to a more solid game. In small steps we continue to improve through this Korfball Odyssey and we are certainly feeling much more enjoyment as a result of this progress as well.
After the game the lads in the team introduced me to a Griftaside (DOS ’46 supporters club) song. This led to Niek and I singing the “Roundabout Song” every time we went through a round about on the way home, probably much to the entertainment and annoyance of our teammates. The usual team stop at McD’s on the way home gave Coops’ and I chance to try the McKroket, a Dutch only invention. Neither of us are huge fans of Macca’s but we had to give this a go. When in the Netherlands…….
Tot ziens
Lorenzo