volleyballers 3 - 2 W.C.'s

Clouds darkened the skies at volleybalveld as 44248 spectators turned up for the match. József Verebes was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Matthias von Löw und zu Steinfurth and Michal Andrýsek. The following players had been chosen: Braes - Berckmans, Bronsema - Jeanne, Radomile, Everaert, Rymenans, Leclou - Dirick, Forgione, Baddou.

They fielded: Debrulle - Carrette, Paternostre - Sobaszek, Cuvelier, Verkest, Vercauteren, Dörfler - Van der Mijnsbrugge, Cox, Pouč.

Both teams came out with a similar approach to the match, having chosen to start with a 2-5-3 formation. A well placed corner kick from Josef Pouč was followed by Herre Vercauteren's hard but accurate header. The well executed routine resulted in a goal for W.C.'s, the score now 0 - 1. After 35 minutes, Firmus Baddou took a hard knock between his legs. He needed a long breather but was eventually able to continue the game. Robertus Van der Mijnsbrugge increased the visitors' lead by putting a volley away after a pass from the right. 0 - 2. The home team's supporters got excited again when Manlio Forgione broke through the visitors' central defence and caught their keeper off guard, making it 1 - 2. Jan Berckmans of volleyballers was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. Having taken a hard knock between his legs, Oscar Paternostre limped off the pitch in a reduced state of dignity. He could not continue, with 40 minutes on the clock, could this prove costly for his team? The replacement for the injured player was Pim Singelyn. Halftime score was 1 - 2. W.C.'s had most of the ball, with 59 percent of possession.

volleyballers's Hermannus Bronsema was shown a yellow card after 61 minutes for slicing down an opponent. Josef Pouč came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle. He tried to lift the ball over Flip Braes but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. The swift technical skills of Robertus Van der Mijnsbrugge were often too much for the tall but somewhat slow Stef Everaert who was humiliated after 65 minutes. He'll be breathing a huge sigh of relief after the final shot went wide. 72 minutes in, and volleyballers were able to score the equalising goal to make it 2 - 2 when Pieter Dirick picked up a pass coming in from the right and chipped it past the away team's keeper. The visitors' central defence should have had no trouble clearing the pass to Manlio Forgione, but the volleyballers player managed to shrug them off and fired a low shot past the keeper to give his team the lead. 3 - 2! Herre Vercauteren dispatched a majestic long shot 81 minutes into the match, but missed the goal by a few metres. It was announced by the referee that he estimated stoppage time to be around 1 minute. This meant there could still be an extra attack or two left in the match! The match ends 3 - 2. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by W.C.'s, with 58 percent of the ball.

Manuele Radomile performed admirably for volleyballers. On the other hand, Pieter Dirick's play was disheartening. Most important W.C.'s player was Louis Verkest. However, Pim Singelyn made a disastrous appearance.