Wasinski settles tight contest as Almere deny league leaders Heracles
Almere City held league leaders Heracles to a 1:0 victory in the Eerste Divisie's seventh round on Friday evening. The result keeps Heracles at the summit with 18 points from six games, while Almere move to second place on 13 points. It was a match where the table positions told one story and the pitch offered another.
Heracles arrived having won all six of their opening fixtures, but they found themselves with nothing to lose against a side that had already shown resilience. By then, the visitors were used to pulling away from opponents, but Almere switched off at the back only briefly. The home side gave nothing away in the opening exchanges, sitting deep and refusing to be drawn out.
The turning point came late, when Martin Jean Wasinski put Almere ahead in the 80th minute. He had been on the pitch since the start and was substituted shortly after, so he made his mark before heading to the bench. To be fair, Heracles had created three big chances by that stage, but their shot accuracy of 13 per cent told the real story. They hit 17 shots off target while managing only three on goal.
What happened at the other end mattered more than possession figures. Almere held 40 per cent of the ball but their two shots on target required just two saves from Fabian de Kooijer. The goalkeeper had a quiet evening compared to his counterpart, who made two stops. And here's the thing about matches like this — the more you attack without purpose, the more you leave yourself exposed.
The substitutions tell their own tale. Almere brought on H. el Dahri and Bas Huisman together in the 60th minute, then brought on Wasinski himself after scoring. Heracles responded with Tristan Van Gilst and Damon Mirani, along with Manny Rodriguez Baldera, all in the 85th minute. They were looking for something, but the game was effectively put to bed.
Heracles recorded 130 attacks against 85 for Almere, but the difference was in efficiency. The visitors completed 331 passes to 216 for the hosts, yet only two key passes compared to Almere's three. The old head settled them down — or rather, the young head of Wasinski did what was needed when it counted.
The gap between the sides remains five points, but the quality of the performance suggests more could come. Heracles had one foot in the next round of confidence, but Almere have hit a wall that will take time to break through.
