SV Blauw Wit (Holland)

SV Blauw Wit is an amateur football club from the Dutch city of Nijmegen who were founded on the 14th November 1914 by Mr J Melssen. The team had a strong religious background and were initially led by Father Welter, starting out life playing on land belonging to a farmer; Hent Albers.

Before long the team moved to a meadow in Rush to the south of the city. From there Blauw Wit were on the move once more, this time north to a ground at Dennenstraat. By 1927 the club known at the time as rksv Blauw Wit reached the highest class of Catholic football.

Following a merger of the football authorities following World War Two, the club were placed in the highest grade of Nijmegen football.

Within a year they were promoted to the fourth tier of KNVB Sunday football. The team finished as runners-up of Vierde Klasse 4H in 1946-47, remaining in that division until the completion of the 1955-56 campaign. 

This was two years after Blauw Wit had to give up their ground to the housing association, moving to a pitch in De Goffert, where NEC Amateurs would later play. The move didn’t work out too well as the team were relegated back to local football.

To make the club more accessible to non-Catholics rksv was replaced by SV; Sportvereniging Blauw Wit, to give them their full title. Another move followed for the 1963-64 campaign as the club moved to Sportpark De Schoonhorst, where the members built the first clubhouse to cater for the several pitches on site.

This allowed the club to rejoin Vierde Klasse 4E where a runners-up place followed in 1969-70 before the title was captured in 1973-74.  Membership grew in the club leading a larger clubhouse being built in at the same time.

Two seasons later the team was promoted once again to Tweede Klasse 2A, before being relegated in 1978-79. Blauw Wit played four seasons in Derde Klasse prior to another demotion in 1982-83.

The club recovered back at Vierde Klasse level, finishing as 4E runners-up in 1985-86 before lifting the title in 1987-88. A runners-up place was followed a couple of seasons later in 1990-91 with promotion from Derde Klasse via the play-offs.

Their spell lasted two seasons in Tweede Klasse before being relegated from 2A in 1992-93. The slide continued when Blauw Wit were relegated back to Vierde Klasse in 1995-96. There was no improvement prior to another drop in level in 2005-06.

The club continued serving the communities of local neighbourhoods of Voorhees and Neerbosch with over forty teams playing out of the club with the first eleven winning the Vijfde Klasse 5E title at the first time of asking.

The 4E title was collected in 2009-10 before the team returned twelve months later. Undeterred they climbed straight back out of Vierde Klasse to play in Derde Klasse 3D until dropping back down in 2014-15.

Again Blauw Wit recovered immediately to lift the 4E title in 2015-16 to take up their position in Derde Klasse 3D football where they finished fifth in 2018-19 and then the same again when the 2019-20 campaign was prematurely ended owing to the outbreak of Coronavirus.

SV Blauw Wit will play in the Zondag Derde Klasse 3D Oost in the 2020-21 season.

My visit

Sunday 19^th January 2014

My visit to The Netherlands was going well, and I’d got ahead of my schedule in Nijmegen. I’d even found SCH, a club I hadn’t even heard of before the bus past when seeking out Blauw Wit.

From SCH I took a twenty minute walk finding myself on Energieweg, a little behind schedule as I was heading to the 12.30 kick off at De Goffert between NEC and ADO Den Haag. The sun was shining brightly as I arrived, which didn’t really help my photography.

De Schoonhorst had four pitches with main one having an artificial pitch, with a match going on. Two sides of it had hedges as fences. The pitch had hard standing all the way around, without any cover or stands. The near side was by the expansive car park and clubhouse and was protected by high fencing.

Having taken my photos I headed off down Dennenstraat, past where Blauw Wit once played to my next location, Quick 1888.

SCH (Holland)

Sport Club Voorhees or SCH was an amateur football club from the city of Nijmegen in the Gelderland region of The Netherlands. The club were formed on the 23rd January 1921 as Nijmegen Voorhees Combination (NHC) in the village of Voorhees and continued until being disbanded on January 23rd 2017.

The club changed their title in December 1926 to SCH, beginning the season at their new ground Sportpark De Biezen on Rivierstraat in the north west of the city and joining KNVB football at Vierde Klasse level, from where they were promoted from 4D as champions in 1927-28.

SCH won the 3C title in 1930-31 and again the following season to achieve Tweede Klasse football before being promoted in 1934-35 following play-off victories over Hengelo and Vitesse, with their spell lasting just twelve months.

Further titles came as Tweede Klasse 2B was won in 1938-39 followed by the emergency Noodcompetitie title in 1939-40. The 2C runners-up place was secured in 1942-43 before football was cancelled for a short time.

A couple of runners-up places in Tweede Klasse 2C came in 1946-47 and 1947-48 prior to the team suffering a relegation in 1951-52. The Derde Klasse 3D title was won in 1953-54 and 1954-44 which was rewarded with promotion.

Gradually, new housing was built in the nearby Waterkwartier district allowing the club membership to grow. However, ‘De Blauwe Jungskes’ gradually went down the divisions over the years.

SCH lasted nine seasons back in Tweede Klasse competition before dropping back down in 1963-64. Four seasons later it became worse as the team were demoted to Vierde Klasse football. The 4E title was won 1969-70 to herald a return to their former status.

The club retained Derde Klasse level for three seasons before being relegated in 1972-73. Back in Vierde Klasse 4E the team finished as runners-up in 1977-78 before winning the title in 1978-79. The jump up proved too steep as SCH had returned within twelve months.

The team remained at that level until 1988-89 when they dropped out to local football before returning and winning promotion in 1990-91 through the play offs. SCH went on to consolidate and then finish as 3D runners-up in 1992-93.

1996-97 saw the Derde Klasse 3D title won, with SCH going one better by claiming the Tweede Klasse 2I title in 1997-98, regaining their place in the first class for the first time in sixty three years.

However, the joy was not to last for SCH as they suffered relegation in 1999-00 and again in 2001-02. Worse was to follow as the club missed a season and were forced to restart at Vierde Klasse level before dropping to the fifth Vijfde Klasse in 2004-05.

Promotion came at the first attempt but the end of the 2008-09 ended in another demotion back to Vijfrde Klasse following a 2-2 play off draw against Eendracht Arnhem. Several mergers for SCH were mooted over the years without fruition before Wim Wouters team won promotion back to the fourth Vierde Klasse in 2010-11.

The 4E title was won in 2012-13 for SCH to make their way back to Derde Klasse 3D where they consolidated with third place on their return. Halfway through the 2016-17 campaign previous indiscretions caught up with the club.

SCH had been reported over disciplinary incidents to the KNVB. The club couldn’t put together an acceptable action plan, so they were expelled from football in January 2017. Sportpark De Biezen was demolished in December 2017.

My visit

Sunday 19^th January 2014

While I think my pre planning is pretty good before I head off to ventures new, it is natural that at times that a visit to a club can be a disappointment. On the other hand, a club can appear without previous knowledge, as with how I came across SCH.

I was Nijmegen primarily to go to the NEC game that lunchtime against ADO Den Haag, but after dropping off my bag at the De Prince B&B I decided to do some exploring on the way to help bring me around from the hangover I’d incurred the previous evening while socialising in Zwolle. 

The Joris Ivensplein bus stop at the bottom of the street displayed that the no.85 would take me near to my intended target; the home of SV Blauw Wit. I was trying to concentrate on where we were when a decent looking venue caught my attention. 

I rang the bell hoping that the bus would stop soon, but it continued along Industrieweg, before stopping around half a mile further up at Sluis Weurt. Not to be deterred I headed back, using cycle tracks and then crossing a new road that didn’t even exist on my map app, just to confuse matters.

Eventually I found myself on Rivierstraat and at the entrance, where I first discovered SCH. A Sunday morning match was taking place on the second pitch at the other side of the car park. I went to have a look at the main arena.

De Biezen had a substantial cover down the far side, with the rest of the neat venue having hard standing around the pitch with grass beyond.

I was leaving when my presence had been noticed by a club official. I explained that I was from England visiting stadiums and then heading to the NEC match. He seemed delighted with this. I ventured on, taking a look at the match in progress I was walked. It reminded me of Sunday mornings on Olivers Mount Scarborough!

PEC Zwolle (Holland)

Prins Hendrik Ende Desespereert Nimmer Combinatie Zwolle, or more commonly PEC Zwolle is a professional football club from the historic city of Zwolle in The Netherlands. The city located seventy five miles north east from Amsterdam is one of the oldest in the country.

PEC’s history takes a complicated and interesting history since the clubs Prins Hendrik, formed in 1906, and Ende Desespereert Nimmer (1904) merged on the 12th June 1910 to form the club.

PEC became the club of the middle-class community and became rivals to ZAC who represented the high society since their formation in 1893. Zwolsche Boys arrived on the scene in 1918 to give the working class a club to support. All three clubs played on grounds a small walking distance apart and played each other regularly.

In 1923 PEC moved into Sportpark De Vrolijkheid and signed the entire Zwolsche Boys forward line before reaching the KNVB Cup Final in 1927-28 where they were defeated 2-0 by Racing Club Heemstede.  

In 1935 the club exchanged grounds with Zwolsche Boys, with PEC heading to Oosterenkstadion at Gemeentelijk Sportpark. PEC became regional Tweede Klasse champions in 1954-55 which offered the club the opportunity to join the professional set up. Under coach Jan van Asten, Zwolle were given a place in the second tier Eerste Klasse A.

The initial professional season was to sort out the rankings and allocate places going forwards. PEC’s poor finish led to a place in Tweede Divisie A. Leo Koopman scored goals after the club had been switched to the B section as the team finished mid table.

Zwolsche Boys had been placed in Eerste Klasse B under the tutelage of Jan Lodensteyn but also dropped to Tweede Divisie B with Arend Gerrits in charge of their side to resume their local rivalry with PEC.

It was around this time when Boys and PEC once again swapped their grounds. This time PEC would go on to purchase the De Vrolijkheid complex. Zwolche boys under Arend Gerrits also became a Tweede Divisie club in 1956-57.

Tweede Divisie was streamlined to one third tier league in 1960-61 as PEC, coached by Jan de Roos finished just above the drop zone. The team survived the relegation places through the play-offs before being relegated through them after a defeat to Oldenzaal in 1962-63.

Boys had survived the 1959-60 relegation play-offs before defeat to LONGA sent them down in 1961-62. Both clubs recovered to win promotion back to the third tier with Cor Sluyk in charge of PEC and with Stijger the Boys coach whose team survived another close shave in 1964-65.

Zwolche continued to struggle under former Dutch international Joep Brandes while PEC gradually improved each season. Brandes swapped clubs with remarkable effect. PEC finished bottom in 1968-69 while Boys ended in fifth under Arie Otten.

PEC and Zwolsche Boys merged in 1969, initially playing as PEC. Boys continued as a separate amateur club dropping down to Vierde Klasse 4E football. Pim van de Meent arrived as the coach of the merged club to oversee an improvement with Lody Kragt leading the scoring.

Pepe Fernandez and Freek Schutten helped the team to the runners-up place in 1970-71 under coach Lászlo Zalai after the club had returned to Oosterenkstadion on Ceintuurbaan while Zwolsche Boys moved back to De Vrolijkheid.

The performance was enough to gain the club, now named PEC Zwolle a place in the second tier Eerste Divisie. Herman Heskamp and Jan Hoogendoorn put away the chances as Zwolle finished as runners-up in 1972-73 before missing out on promotion in the play-offs. 

The dreams of promotion also ended at the same stage the following season after the appointment of coach Georg Keßler. Kees van Sloten scored goals regularly prior to Hans Alleman leading the side to another runners-up place in 1976-77 which again ended in play-off disappointment.

It was to be double frustration as Zwolle also reached the final of the KNVB Beker final, going down 3-0 after extra time to FC Twente at De Goffert in Nijmegen. The club dusted down to win the Eerste Divisie title and promotion to Eredivisie for the first time twelve months later after the appointment of Fritz Korbach as Ron Jans starred.

Zwolle consolidated in the top flight before coming close to relegation in 1981-82 as it was revealed that the club was in financial trouble after chasing their ambitions and before coming close to bankruptcy.

In 1982 businessman developer Marten Eibrink took over and stabilised the finances, as well as changing the name to PEC Zwolle ’82. He had the stadium renovated and brought in legendary players Johnny Rep and Piet Schrijvens to the club.

However, Co Adriaanse’s team was relegated in 1984-85 before they collected themselves and won promotion the following season as Eerste Divisie runners-up with Foeke Booy scoring the goals as Zwolle once again found their Eredivisie feet.

In 1988 Eibrink left the club citing a lack of interest from sponsors and the local authorities has his reason. At the end of the 1988-89 season Zwolle were relegated once more with sponsors pulling out, players being left unpaid and the true extent of the Slavenburgs Bank debt coming to light. The club were declared bankrupt in 1990.

Theo de Jong was coach at the time looking to try and stabilise things on the pitch as the club started again as FC Zwolle, changing from the city’s green and white colours to blue and white to sever all ties with the previous regime while creating a new club crest.

The team missed out on promotion in the 1990-91 play-offs before several seasons in mid table ensued. Jaap Stam was introduced to the team at the start of a stellar career along with fellow future international Bert Konterman.

In 1996 a bit of local football history was made when Zwolsche Boys left De Vrolijkheid, which would be redeveloped later for retail use, to move to the new Jo van Marle Sportpark in the south of the city.

Jan Everse had arrived as coach as Zwolle took the side to the play-offs in 1996-97 which again ended in disappointment. The club had however turner the corner, once again ending the season at the same stage twelve months later and again in 1998-99.

It was agony again the following season for the team with Dwight Lodeweges as coach as they fell short despite ending as league runners-up. The near misses with promotion continued in 2000-01 before there was no doubt in 2001-02.

The goals of Arne Slot and Richard Roelofsen under Paul Krabbe fired ‘Blauwvingers’ to the Eerste Divisie title in 2002-03 before the coach was replaced by Peter Boeve. The club managed to retain their status through the play-offs upon their return to top level football.

Hennie Spijkerman took over team affairs but could not prevent the team being relegated in 2003-04. There were play-off disappointments in 2004-05 and 2005-06 before the return of coach Everse whose team missed out in 2006-07 and again the following season at the final stage.

The club made the decision to replace Oosterenkstadion with a new stadium on the same complex. Zwolle were given permission despite some reservations owing to the casino which would accompany it. FC Zwolle Stadion opened for the 2008-09 campaign.

Art Langeler was appointed as coach in 2010 after further play-off heartbreaks, His team were denied in the play-off final by VVV-Venlo in 2010-11. Darryl Lachman starred as Nassir Maachi put away the goals to take Zwolle to the 2011-12 Eerste Divisie title and promotion.

Their home venue was renamed IJsseldelta Stadion after the local region while the club returned to the title of PEC Zwolle before the team consolidated their Eredivisie status before former player Ron Jans took over as coach in the summer of 2013.

In 2013-14 the team reached the KNVB Beker final, where they came from behind to destroy Ajax 5-1 in front of an astounded crowd at De Kuip as both Ryan Thomas and Guyon Fernandez scored twice which was added to by a Bram van Polen goal.

Click here to see the remarkable victory.

Zwolle qualified for the 2014-15 Europa League where they went out in the play-off round to Sparta Praha before the displays of Lars Veldwijk helped his team to more European football the following season. In the summer of 2016 IJsseldelta Stadion was renamed MAC³PARK stadion in a sponsorship deal.

A fourteenth place in 2016-17 saw Jans being replaced by John van 't Schip who led the side to ninth prior to the appointment of prodigal son Jaap Stam. His season at the helm ended with Zwolle towards the wrong end of the table

John Stegeman was put in charge of the team in the summer of 2019. PEC were in fifteenth position when the outbreak of Coronavirus ended the season early in which the creativity of Gustavo Hamer shone through.

PEC Zwolle will play in the Eredivisie in the 2020-21 season.

My visit

PEC Zwolle 1 Vitesse 2 (Saturday 18^th January 2014) Eredivisie (att: 12,350)

My planning for this Saturday evening encounter had begun a few weeks earlier when it looked a good travel link to the rest of my journey, so I applied for a clubcard. These are needed by supporters at each club to purchase tickets, so that the authorities have a clear check to see who is in the stadiums, which has cut down on a lot of the hooliganism that blighted matches for a couple of decades.

My PEC card had come back, but I still couldn’t order my tickets online as I needed a Dutch bankcard. A phone call to the helpful staff soon sorted me out, so I could collect them at the game. I needed two as I was to meet up with my old pal Guy Watson who was going to see FC Utrecht the following afternoon.

I met him in the plush bar of the Sandton Pillows Hotel across the road from Zwolle station after I returned from my afternoon amateur game at nearby WHC Wezep. Guy had done his homework well. We were soon crossing the canal that circled the old city centre and entering Sally O’Briens Irish Bar for some Grolsch and to watch the live coverage of Arsenal v Fulham.

Once we’d seen the other scores come in we decided to take the easy option and head to the IJsseldelta Stadion in good time. We got on board the no.3 service from Rodetorenplein near to where an ice disco was being set up after a rapid slurp in Cafe Bosch. 

On the bus we got talking to a Swiss groundhopper who was due to go to Oxford City and Cambridge City the following week as well as Warrenpoint Town in Northern Ireland to revisit an abandoned game, which was well beyond my dedication.

Unbelievably I looked in my wallet and realised I’d left my clubcard back in London! The lady at the counter said it was no problem and that they were expecting me. Our seats cost $17.50, with a decent programme just one more Euro.

All sorted it was time to find the fans bar, which it appears is a regular feature at Dutch grounds. It cost non card carriers $2 much to Guy’s laughter. Inside old games were shown on the TVs. 

Refreshments were obtained by a token system, necessitating us to put notes into a machine which then dispensed a plastic currency known countrywide as munts. Each club had their own special plastic coins.

A fan started talking to us, and seemed most impressed that I’d been to watch Wezep that afternoon, which was a general appreciation I got as the night continued. He returned with two beers for us as a mark of hospitality. 

Naturally we returned the favour before our new pal headed off to meet his teetotal father in law. After a couple more drinks it was time to make our way round to our seats at the far end.

The IJsseldelta Stadion was compact and enclosed all the way round, with a roof offering all protection. It was all seated with all four sides raised. A few seats covered the paddocks down to the pitch down the sides. The away fans from Arnhem were further along from us. The configuration of the arena made for an excellent atmosphere. The PEC Ultras at the far end were making a real racket.

Vitesse took the lead on the excellent artificial surface after just three minutes, when Christian Atsu went past three defenders without challenge and shot into the top corner. We thought that could signal a one sided game, with the visitors needing a win to go to the top of the league.

Zwolle responded as Guyon Fernandez finished neatly after ten minutes following neat build up play from Jesper Drost. Vitesse had a penalty saved shortly after by PEC keeper Diederik Boer. Guy returned with a couple of beers that we were allowed to drink in our seats, but with the bad news that the punts from the bar outside were invalid and we needed new ones in the stadium.

The game was nip and tuck until the interval. My need for food was an expensive experience compared to drinks, but I was well aware of the perils of drinking on an empty head! While the tokens save queues at counters, they were also very convenient for the clubs as they could round up prices. 

We were left one munt short of drink, but the staff would not bend. Guy said he saw one tourist fan looking to put a $50 into the machine. He was either returning to another game, very generous or in a hell of a mess at full time.

Zwolle had more of the play after the break and looked like they could snatch it. However, after missing a good opportunity late on, the visiting full back Patrick van Aanholt won the game in the last minute when his run took the ball in his stride before firing home under Boer.

We had both been cheering for Zwolle and had taken a liking to the way they played. Well that and the beer assisting us maybe? We headed round to the far end and quickly found the bus stop back into town. 

There were no extra services laid on, so it could have been a bit of a fight to get on, if not for it being a mismatch in the weight department on our favour. The bus back was packed, with the local youths rocking it from side to side and generally acting up until it drove off, before depositing us at the station.

We crossed a bridge back into the old town and found a brown cafe for an hour or so. At half time at the game a home fan had rolled giant dice on the pitch to draw the raffle much to our amusement.  

Niek was now in the pub and we chatted football and drank with him and his mates. Guy went off to his hotel by train while I stayed for a nightcap before Niek gave me his Zwolle scarf. I eventually got back to the hotel for midnight after failing to find my bus stop and having to pay for another taxi, but I still seemed pretty happy with life! 

WHC Wezep (Holland)

Wezep Hattemerbroek Combination, or WHC Wezep as they are most commonly known are an amateur football club from  from Wezep – Hattemerbroek in the Gelderland region of central Netherlands who were formed on the 1st October 1930, originally as Hattemerbroek Football Association (HVV).

HVV were soon successful, going on to be crowned champions of the North Central Football Association in 1937-38 and 1938-39. Unfortunately, World War Two intervened, but when peace was restored a new club HVV Wezeper Boys took over the reins.

However, the KNVB, the Dutch FA, refused to recognise the new set up and enforced them to merge with another local club; HVV Brandsma. From there WHC was born. Placed in Saturday fourth class amateur Dutch football, WHC reached the final of the competition in 1948-49, where they were defeated 2-1 by Amsterdam AMVJ.

Undaunted WHC regrouped and won the championship the following season by beating Nunspeet in 't Harde in front of 5,000 fans at the final to win promotion to Derde Klasse football. After a couple of third places in Klasse 3A before the team finished as runners-up and then won the promotion play offs.

The 1960’s would bring the glory days to Sportpark Muldersingel as five championships at Tweede Klasse were won. In 1963-64 and 1965-66 the 2C title was won sandwiching a second place in between.

The club was moved geographically to play in Tweede Klasse 2D where WHC were just at home with further title wins in 1966-67 and 1967-68 when an amazing crowd of 11,500 witnessed the completion of the blue and white’s seventh club title for the final against local rivals Go Ahead Kampen Zwolle.

1969-70 saw the 2D championship return to the club. The following season saw WHC win the Saturday Amateur Cup following a victory over Black White '28. Throughout the 70’s WHC played in the top tier of the amateur game, fluctuating between divisions 1A and 1B.

A runners-up spot was achieved in 1971-72 which was followed by a series of mid table finishes before WHC narrowly avoided relegation in 1979-80 following a 5-0 win over SDCP, with 5,000 fans attending the clash in Nunspeet.

However, 1981-82 saw WHC relegated for the first time. Six years later victory over FC Meppel in the final of the Tweede Klasse saw WHC propelled back to the first Eerste Klasse for the 1988-89 campaign.

The team competed in Klasse 1B and 1C for the following nine seasons where the team finished third in 1992-93 prior to being crowned as champions of 1D title in 1996-97 to take the club up to Hoofdklasse football, the highest amateur status of the day.

Probably WHC’s greatest claim to fame came when they were drawn against Ajax in the KNVB Cup. The match on the 23rd December 2009 was moved to the IJsseldelta Stadion home of neighbours PEC Zwolle and ended in a 14-1 win for the visitors in front of a sell-out 10,500 crowd.

To see the action from the game, click here.

The turn of the millennium saw the club consolidate and then end with three third place finishes in the league. Following restructuring of the leagues in 2010-11 WHC failed to gain a place to the Topklasse as Hoofdklasse dropped to the second tier.

After three third place finishes, WHC ended as runners up of Zaterdag Hoofdklasse C in 2010-11 and 2011-12 before being relegated in 2014-15. The team recovered finishing third in 2016-17 and again the following season from where they won promotion through the play-offs.

However, their Hoofdklasse stay lasted just twelve months. When the 2019-20 finished early owing to the Coronavirus outbreak WHC sat in fourth place in Zaterdag 1E Klasse 1D.

WHC Wezep will play in Zaterdag 1E Klasse 1D Oost in the 2020-21 season.

My visit

WHC Wezep 1 AZSV 0 (Saturday 18^th January 2014) Zaterdag Hoofdklasse C (att: 300)

When I planned my long weekend around The Netherlands, one of the attraction was that the main Eredivisie games kicked off on the Saturday evening, offering me scope to delve into the non league amateur game for the first time. 

As my match of choice at night was PEC Zwolle against Vitesse and to meet up with my old pal Guy Watson, who was going to FC Utrecht v Feyenoord the following day, I wanted a nearby game. The excellent Soccerway website was to prove to be my friend once again.

After some trekking around Enschede and Hengelo, the train took me to Zwolle at lunchtime. A strategic error on my part led me to book the excellent but remote Mercure Hotel on the outskirts of the town. A decided to splash out on a taxi from the station, but the rapid rate of the metre was putting me off further extravagance.

Freshened up after a shower I planned to jump on the no.100 bus at the Oranje Nassaulaan stop. However, this required using the cycle paths going under the motorway and dual carriageway. I got lost and had to revert to the map app on my phone. 

Thankfully I’d taken up the offer from 3 phones of an unlimited twenty four hours internet pass for a fiver. I was soon on track but time was pressing on. I was never going to make the stop, so instead I had to jog and then run further down the route to Katerveerdijk.

I beat the bus by a minute. The locals saw a very out of breath and perspiring visitor jump onboard! Around ten minutes later I was jumping off at Willem de Zwijgerkazerne. From there it was a couple of minutes walk down Hoeloosweg to the entrance of Sportpark Muldersingel. I was encouraged that there were others doing the same.

I immediately got the vibes that WHC were a thriving club. At least two other games had finished on adjoining pitches and the women’s team were warming up before their match on the secondary pitch behind the goal of the main arena. 

I followed the crowds and found a temporary club shop. I was delighted to see that there was a match programme. I’m not sure how much I paid for it, as I let the friendly lady take some change from my hand, but she gave me four strips of raffle tickets as well.

Admission cost me $7. I was given a ticket at the booth that was then torn in half by the inspector a yard away! The entrance was in the corner of the ground just past what looked like a decent clubhouse. Once inside I liked what I saw. De Muldersingel was a typical non league venue.

By the entrance there was a food stall. Both ends had a little flat hard standing. The far side had seven steps of open terracing. The near side had similar open terracing but a raised roofed seated stand across the half way line to accommodate 500 fans. 

There was a basic scoreboard in the far corner, but the feature that impressed me were the raised double level of advertising boards above the open ends and terracing giving the ground a real enclosed feel and the impression that local businesses really supported their club.

I took up a position on the far terrace once I’d taken my photos to take in the action. Both sides went into the game in the bottom three in the league table, so I was expecting a tight clash. I wasn’t to be let down.

The visitors from Aalten began brightly without creating any real opportunities. The home centre back Tanju Sahin seemed to enjoy the theatrical side of the game. I quickly got the impression that he wasn’t quite as good as he thought he was. The match had moments of close skill and passing, but also plenty of long balls for good measure. 

WHC grew into the encounter and went ahead on twenty eight minutes when Bunyamin Özkök latched on to a pass inside the area to go round the visiting custodian Ruud Kempers and slot home from a tight angle.

Just like at being back at a game at home the away keeper took some stick from a group of home youths. Kempers looked quite young himself with a head of flaming red hair. I’m not sure what was repeatedly shouted at him each time he cleared the ball, but I don’t suppose it too complimentary. 

Shortly after the goal, the WHC centre forward Ibrahim Tuncer, who was built like a young Peter Crouch missed a sitter and put the ball onto the women’s pitch over the fence. Leading up to half time I saw fans leaving the terrace and coming back from the food bars eating something out of paper. 

This had to be investigated! It turned out to be a lightly battered fish that was then sprinkled with paprika pepper. It cost $2.20 and I have to say it was a very welcome treat as far as football food goes.

As the half time whistle went it was time to wash my snack down with a beer. Bottles of Amstel were an extremely reasonable £1.75 a go. The TV’s were showing the teletext pages from the other games around the country, including the amateurs.

I decided to take up a seat in the stand for the second half, finding the day so much more relaxing after finding out that the Scarborough game at Bedworth had been postponed. Tuncer continued to have a nightmare up front before he was mercifully replaced, while Sahin looked to be the star while making his fair share of errors.

The action had reduced after the break, and turned into a battle of attrition. AZSV pushed forward trying to pierce the home defence, but they were holding firm and looking more likely to double their advantage. 

Özkök came close to claiming a brace with a decent chance. As the game entered its closing stages I stood by the exit as Tjeerd Korf and then Rossi Dati both missed guilt edged chances to seal the game.

I fully expected them to let it slip in the last minute. Judging from the reaction of their fans, I wasn't in a minority. However, they hung on to claim three vital points. I thought it only right to have another bottle while waiting for my bus. 

The bar was packed with happy fans who then turned their attention to the TVs showing the Holland v New Zealand hockey match. My timing was perfect, having only to wait a minute or two for the bus to arrive and take me to Zwolle station and to meet up with Guy for the evening’s entertainment.