Little Switzerland players walked into the lap of honor on Sunday afternoon with smiling faces. As if they had just achieved their first win of the season. Admittedly: Thanks to a late equalizer, five minutes from time, The Hague Women had at least a point remaining in the game against Bosch. But with the fifth draw of the season, it is still a matter of waiting for a first win for the bottom of the promotion bracket.
KZ’s story is well known. Last year, the famous club from The Hague was annoyingly relegated from the English Premier League. Only a few players remain. The remainder chose a fresh start elsewhere or finished their hockey careers. So it was a matter of saying goodbye and starting over. Only five players remain with the Capricorn team.
One of them is Mikey Tjaberinga. This season, the midfielder, who is in her fourth season at KZ, will wear the captain’s armband for the first time. After the draw with Bosch, there was no sign that Tjaberinga was disappointed by another loss of points for her team, which remains last in the promotion bracket.
“We are actually very happy with this draw. Especially when you are 2-0 down and then you fight, you can only be proud of that. We did not allow ourselves to be discouraged. This shows that we are on the right path.”
Jeb Blass (centre) jumps for joy after 2-2 five minutes from time. Photo: Roger Balke
No moaning
Jabringa, 26, is one of the experienced players in the squad. In addition to the research doctor, goalkeeper Anna-Louise Najdam, who won the gold medal for her team on Sunday with a small number of saves, also remained. In addition to Tjaberinga and N’Gdam, the driving force in the selection is also Jeb Blass, who came from HDM, and who also scored twice against Bosch.
Jabringa: We are not only a very new team, but also a young team. Many players come straight from youth and have to get used to the level of promotion. It takes time to form us as a team. More and more pieces of the puzzle fall into place. We have become more in tune with each other. How we communicate with each other. The fact that we are making significant strides in this regard in a short time is encouraging.
KZ goalkeeper Anna-Louise Nijdam took the gold medal for KZ on Sunday. Photo: Roger Balke
effectiveness
The fact that KZ has not won a single match in the past nine matches does not greatly affect his team according to Tjabringa. “We are all fanatics and losing is not fun, but we do not go into a negative spiral. We see that there is a lot of potential in the team and that things are getting better and better. There is trust in the team. Complaining about each other is not an option. We look at ourselves and not at others. And with The line we’re on now, I’m sure the win will come quickly.
This profit is also badly needed to stay competitive. Leonidas, number 11, is two points ahead of the Capricorn team, but still has a catch-up match against Leiden, which will be held next Thursday. Groningen, last year’s leader at the start of the winter break, is ranked tenth in the classification, one point behind Leonidas. Despite being a new team, a safe top-nine finish is the least one can expect from a club like Little Switzerland.
Heading into the first half of the season, Gaberinga certainly has no concerns about last place. “It’s close in this competition.” If we win two games we will be out of the danger zone. And with the pipeline we have now, I’m convinced this will happen quickly. Getting into the top three will be difficult, but finishing in the middle is certainly possible. We can go beyond teams like Leonidas, Victoria and Bosch. Our final ranking? Just put us in the bottom left row.
