Volendam beat VVV Venlo 3-2 in the Eerste Divisie Regular Season on 26 September 2026, a result that defies every conventional reading of the match. The fourth-placed visitors arrived with momentum and finished with nothing to show for their superiority. And here's the thing — Venlo controlled everything except the scoreline, which tells you more about football than any possession percentage ever could.
Volendam struck first through Henk Veerman in the fifth minute, then Venlo responded immediately with Y. Jaber el Maftahi's goal seven minutes in. The hosts regained the lead before the break when Eanna Clancy found the net in the 16th minute. Reuven Niemeijer restored Venlo's advantage on 38 minutes, setting up a tense second half where neither side could break through.
By then, the pattern was clear. Venlo dominated possession at 59 per cent and registered 134 attacks against Volendam's 56. They created more corners, completed more passes, and had 23 shots to the hosts' 10. But Volendam's goalkeeper made seven saves while Venlo's keeper managed just three. To be fair, both sides created zero big chances, which explains why the game remained tight despite the statistical gulf.
Volendam's manager handed a debut to Nick Doodeman in the 87th minute, a gesture that came far too late to alter the outcome. Meanwhile, Venlo brought on Mohammed Odriss on 71 minutes in search of an equaliser that never materialised. L. Schmidt's 81st-minute strike proved decisive, and here's the thing about cup football — it has its own rules, and this week the underdog held every card.
The statistics reveal a match where Venlo shot 24 times with 30 per cent accuracy, while Volendam converted 60 per cent of their attempts. The visitors completed 447 passes against 282, yet Volendam's 41 clearances versus Venlo's 14 told a different story. The hosts had 12 tackles to the visitors' 11, suggesting they defended with more urgency than Venlo attacked with precision.
Volendam moved to 12 points from eight games, remaining 11th in the table. Venlo stayed on 15 points in fourth place, but this defeat ends what looked like an unbeaten run. The visitors had won five of their previous eight matches across all competitions, but against a side that refused to be intimidated, those numbers meant nothing on the day.
