Jarno Verweij, assistant coach of Royal HFC, started to become slightly annoyed with his players in the run-up to the cup match with PSV. They were already busy with the cup cracker in Eindhoven last week, while an important competition match was still scheduled three days before the meeting in the Philips Stadium.
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Verweij works as an assistant coach at Koninklijke HFC, but because head coach Gertjan Tamerus has been absent for a few weeks due to physical discomfort, he will be on the bench in the Philips Stadium on Tuesday evening as ultimately responsible. He stood before the kick-off of the cup match against PSV ESPN and shed some light on the run-up to the match in Eindhoven. “On Saturday there was mainly relief that we had achieved another result, which we really needed”Verweij was referring to the victory at HHC Hardenberg (1-2).
Royal HFC has not been able to make much progress in the second division in the first half of the season and enters the winter break as number nine. The victory over HHC was more than welcome, but in the run-up to the match in Hardenberg, the players paid little attention to the last competition match of 2024. To Verweij’s annoyance: “The run-up to it… We are preparing for the match against Hardenberg, but everyone is busy with PSV. At some point that started to irritate me a bit. I get it, but ultimately you just have to do your thing on Saturdays and you just have to perform.”
Compliments for HHC players
The latter worked, as HHC was treated to a 1-2 defeat on its own field. Royal HFC was therefore able to work towards the showdown with PSV with a good feeling. “That was a big compliment for the players. In the run-up they were busy with PSV, but during the match we didn’t make anything of it. There were plenty of duels, so that was good. But from the way back, especially because you won, it was only PSV, looking forward to it and above all enjoying it”said Verweij, who experienced a different atmosphere on the bus on Tuesday afternoon. “It was a lot quieter and then you notice that the tension is increasing, because those boys are basically playing the best match of their careers. They realize that very well, but they also want to do everything they can so that it really is a competition. Not that you just come along and suffer it. You really want to enter into that competition in a dignified manner”that’s what it sounded like.
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