The fourth and final ticket for the play-offs is for the men of Pinoké. The Sting noses won 7-3 against front runner Voordaan on Saturday and qualified for the battle for the national title for the second season in a row. Jeroen Hertzberger of Rotterdam was crowned top scorer of the Men’s Tulip Hoofdklasse with 36 goals.
Front – Pinoke 3-7
After last week’s win against Oranje-Rood, Pinoké was in pole position for the last ticket for the play-offs. In Groenekan, the Sting noses quickly put an end to all illusions of a stunt by the gate closer. After twelve minutes Pinoké already led 3-0. Thanks to five goals from Alexander Hendrickx, the team of coach Jesse Mahieu eventually won 7-3. It was therefore Pinoké’s first away victory after the six previous duels on foreign soil had not resulted in a victory. Voorvoor ended the season with only one point from 22 matches and 133 goals against, a new major league record.
Orange-Red – Kampong 4-3
The Orange-Red was not in their own hands to qualify for the play-offs. It had to win against Kampong itself and hope for a stunt from Voordaan against Pinoké. It soon became clear that it was a mission impossible because the Stinging Noses quickly put an end to all the tension. The Orange-Red also did not serve itself by looking at a 2-0 deficit at halftime. The team from Eindhoven reversed that deficit in the third quarter and eventually won 4-3. It was not enough to qualify for the playoffs. Kampong suffered its third loss of the season and thus failed to match the club record of number of victories in a major league season (18). With two goals, Jip Janssen brought his season total in the Men’s Tulip Hoofdklasse to 34 hits. The penalty corner specialist scored 44 goals in all official matches (Kampong and Orange). With that he broke his record of last season when he came to 42 hits.
Schaerweijde – Bloemendaal 3-3
Reigning champion Bloemendaal relinquished a 3-0 lead against Schaerweijde, which drew for the fourth time this season. Bloemendaal striker Roel Bovendeert equaled his personal record of fourteen goals in a major league season. Despite the division of points, Bloemendaal has been without defeat for nineteen league games.
Rotterdam-Amsterdam 2-6
Like Bloemendaal, Rotterdam also relinquished a lead. Despite two goals from Jeroen Hertzberger, the team from Rotterdam left the field against Amsterdam with zero points. Despite the big defeat, Hertzberger was able to add two milestones to his honors list. He was crowned top scorer of the Tulp Hoofdklasse with 36 goals and with that number he also improved the club record that had been held by Roderick Weusthof since the 2011-2012 season. Weusthof scored 34 goals as a player of Rotterdam in that season. Amsterdam striker Mirco Pruyser said goodbye to the Tulp Hoofdklasse Heren with his eleventh goal of the season and 215th goal for Amsterdam.
Den Bosch – HDM 4-3
Den Bosch and HDM made it an attractive competition at the Oosterplas. HDM took the lead twice, but Den Bosch eventually won. With his second goal, Koen Bijen gave the Bossche formation the full spoils. The 4-3 was his fiftieth for Bijen in the Men’s Tulip Hoofdklasse (ten for Little Switzerland, forty for Den Bosch). Jeremy Hayward also managed to find the net for Den Bosch. The Australian thus scored for the ninth round in a row. He scored fourteen goals in that series.
Little Switzerland – HGC 4-2
After three games without a win, Little Switzerland finally took three points again on the last matchday. Despite falling behind quickly after a hit by Karst Timmer, Klein Switzerland turned out to be too strong in the derby 4-2. Two goals came from the stick of Aki Käppeler, who finished the season with 24 hits.
Read below the highlights of the 22nd and last match day in the Tulip Hoofdklasse Men
