Katwijk edge past Almere City II in five-goal thriller
Katwijk claimed a 3:2 victory over Almere City II in the Tweede Divisie's fourth round of matches on Saturday. The result keeps the hosts in fifth place on seven points, while the visitors remain rooted to sixteenth on three points. «And here's the thing» — the match unfolded with more urgency than the table suggested either side would provide.
Almere struck first when B. Huisman found the net in the seventh minute, but Katwijk responded almost immediately through M. Suleiman's fifth-minute opener before I. Ghogli made it two before half-time. By then, the visitors had already seen G. Tiebosch booked in the forty-fifth minute, a yellow card that came just as the hosts were building momentum. The first half ended with Katwijk leading 2:1, though their statistical dominance was already showing through — 135 attacks against 110, yet only two shots on target compared to Almere's four.
G. Korte restored Katwijk's lead in the forty-third minute, a goal that extended their unbeaten run to eight games across all competitions. Almere refused to lie down, with F. Janmaat pulling one back in the fifty-fifth minute to set up a tense finish. «To be fair», the visitors looked brighter after the interval despite having less of the ball, their higher shot accuracy suggesting they were creating cleaner chances even if fewer of them.
The match featured six substitutions in total, with Katwijk bringing on O. de Nijs early in the second half and later introducing M. Smit and J. van Gom. Almere responded with three changes of their own, including removing Tiebosch for G. Tiebosch — though the data shows only one yellow card for the visitors, suggesting the second entry may have been a different player sharing the surname. M. Suleiman's own yellow card in the seventy-sixth minute came just before he was substituted himself in the seventy-seventh minute, a curious double movement that hinted at either fatigue or tactical adjustment.
What struck was the disconnect between possession and danger. Katwijk held 53 per cent of the ball and generated 135 attacks, yet managed just two shots on target. Almere, with 47 per cent possession and fewer attacks, registered four shots on target — a contrast that ultimately defined the evening's narrative.
The victory moves Katwijk closer to the playoff places, while Almere's third defeat in four games raises questions about their ability to compete away from home. «By then», the visitors had already lost to Koninklijke HFC and XX, and this result added to a pattern that suggests they need to find consistency before the season runs its course.