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| Financial
blow for Fortuna and NAC |
12 July 2001
|
| Fortuna
and NAC will not be travelling to Saudi Arabia for the prestigious King
Fahd tournament, which has been postponed till January 2002. The clubs
will sorely miss the income they would have received for taking part and
it also disrupts their pre-season preparations. NAC will be staying in
Holland which means that the cancelled friendly against RBC during the
RoosendaalersDay will now take place. |
| Fortuna
sign Mischa Rook |
12 July 2001
|
| Fortuna
have signed Mischa Rook on a contract for two years - the 28 year-old
began his career with Dordrecht '90 and comes transfer-free from Cambuur
Leeuwaarden. |
| Fortuna
ask town council for financial help |
07 July 2001
|
| Troubled Fortuna have approached their local municipal council for
financial aid in the form of a guarantee allowing the club to borrow
€1.92 million Euros. They need to strengthen their squad after narrowly
avoiding relegation and the money would give them the opportunity to buy
some fresh blood. |
| Fortuna
sign Scottish striker |
06 July 2001
|
| Fortuna
Sittard have signed Colin Cramb from English side Crewe Alexandra. The 27
year-old striker began his career at Southampton in 1992 before playing in
Scotland for Falkirk, and Heart of Midlothian, moving back to England to
play for Doncaster Rovers, Bristol City, Crewe Alexandra and Notts County.
He'd been on loan to Bury last season, where he played 15 matches, and
they were also interested in signing him but he's now chosen instead to
try his luck in the Ere Divisie. |
| Verel
new coach at Fortuna |
04 July 2001
|
| Fortuna
have a new coach to replace the departed Frans
Thijssen - 48 year-old Rotterdammer Hans Verel takes over at the
troubled club on a contract for two years. He's worked at FC Den Bosch,
RBC Roosendaal, NAC, Dordrecht '90, RKC Waalwijk and, during the last two
seasons, he's been assistant trainer with Willem II. |
| Frank
Thijssen resigns at Fortuna |
20 June 2001
|
| Framk
Thijssen has resigned as trainer at Fortuna Sittard after last night's
defeat by Zwolle in the last of the playoffs. He'd
taken over earlier in the season from Henk Duut but had not developed
a rapport with the players (who remained unmotivated by the replacement
trainer) while he, himself, had doubts about the club's future. |
| Playoff
roundup |
20 June 2001
|
| Fortuna went down to Zwolle 1 -
2 ... After
Fortuna went ahead in the 11th minute from a Dennis Gerritsen goal, in the
2nd half Zwolle took control of the match and won with goals from Arne
Slot in the 57th and
Dominggus Lim-Duan in the 73rd. |
| Playoff
Roundup |
16 June 2001
|
| Today's
matches were in Group A - Telstar met Fortuna at home 1 - 3...It
didn't look as though it would be Fortuna's night when Telstar came out
fighting, and had a penalty saved in the 9th minute. Throughout the 1st
half they were the better side but it was the Sittardians who went ahead
in the 43rd minute with a Ronald Hamming goal. After the break Nenad
Bjekovic scored a 2nd in the 57th, Arvid Smit getting one back for the
home team and Rolf Landerl making the final score 1 - 3. Fortuna stay up
while Telstar stay down.
|
| Playoff
Roundup |
14 June 2001
|
| Fortuna
beat Volendam 3 - 1 in group A -Yuri Rose put Volendam ahead from the
penalty spot in the 31st minute at Fortuna but ended up playing most of
the match with ten men after Misha Salden was sent off. Robert Roest
(44th) and Ronald Hamming (48th) gave the home team the lead and Rolf
Landerl made it 3 - 1. Fortuna go top in Group A. |
| Playoff...Volendam
beat Fortuna 1 - 0 |
10 June 2001
|
| A
Houssein Ouhsaine goal in the 79th minute was enough to clinch the points
for Volendam and give them a 2 point lead over Fortuna and Telstar in
Group A. They look on course for promotion again to the Ere Divisie - they
last turned out in Holland's Premier League in the 1997/98 season while
unfortunate Fortuna are now in serious danger of being relegated. |
| Fortuna's
Ruud Hesp returns from injury |
31 May 2001
|
| Fortuna's
injured goalkeeper Ruud Hesp returns in time from injury (he's been
recovering from a broken index finger) to help his side in their final
attempt to avoid relegation. Tonight they face Wiilem II and must win,
while De Graafschap must lose to NAC, if the unfortunate Sittardians are
to continue playing Ere Divisie football next season. |
| De
Graafschap-NAC/Fortuna-Willem II off |
26 May 2001
|
| The
Dutch FA (KNVB) have decided to postpone the matches De Graafschap-NAC and
Fortuna-Willem II as a result of the car crash which killed NAC's young
midfielder Ferry van Vliet. |
| Robert
Roest rejects Den Haag |
23 May 2001
|
| Fortuna
Sittard's Robert Roest has rejected a move to Toto side ADO Den Haag. The
31 year-old defender has asked to leave Sittard but wants to continue
playing in the Ere Divisie. If he's not found a suitable candidate by
August he'll reconsider playing in Holland's lower division. |
| Twente
beat Fortuna 0 - 2 |
11 May 2001
|
| Unfortunate
Fortuna would have liked a win tonight in their battle to stay clear of
the danger zone (they are only 4 points ahead of 17th placed Sparta and
still 2 points behind De Graafschap). The visitors needed only un
point to make sure they wouldn't have to undergo the indignation of the
end-of-season playoffs. A Thijs Houwing pass gave Scotsman Scott Booth the
chance to put the Enschede team
ahead after 20
minutes. The Sittardians couldn't come up with a reply and Chris de Witte made certain
Twente went home with 3 points when he scored a 2nd goal in the
89th minute. Frans Thijssen will be hoping that their
rivals-for-survival at the bottom of the table will drop some points in
the last few matches of the season. Maybe today's match between Sparta and
AZ will bring some last-minute hope for the Limburgers. |
| Feyenoord
lose to happy Fortuna 2 - 3 |
06 May 2001
|
| Feyenoord
are slowly losing their grip on 2nd place and needed to convincingly
outperform the Sittardians this afternoon. The Rotterdammers have had
their fair share of personnel problems (Leonardo's been
dropped, Kalou's half-fit and unhappy, Bosvelt's out for the rest of the
season) and sorely needed a confidence booster. Fortuna are in
16th place and need the points to clear the relegation zone - they went
ahead after a quarter of an hour with a 16th minute goal by Ronald
Hamming, Jochem van der Hoeven made it 0 - 2 in the 41st. Feyenoord's
attack had no sting today and their defence started to show the cracks as
well. Despite various 2nd half substitutions it began to look like the
Rotterdammers were going to get their 5th defeat in the last 6 matches.
The substitution of Korneev for Kalou brought hope - he drew them level with two goals in 5 minutes in the 77th and 81st but
it was a short-lived revival. Joost
Volmer clinched the very welcome points for Fortuna in the 84th leaving
Feyenoord clutching their latest headache. |
| Fortuna
get 10 days to buy Bjekovic |
01 May 2001
|
| Fortuna
Sittard have been given 10 days to make up their minds whether they are
going to buy hired-gun Nenad Bjekovic. The striker was hired from
Partisan Belgrade with an option to buy and would have been snapped up long
ago - but now the club are in danger of being relegated to the Toto
Division and must closely examine their finances before spending any more
money while the player himself would like to stay in Holland but
preferably in the Ere Divisie! |
| Fortuna
and Groningen share points 1 - 1 |
28 Apr 2001
|
| Fortuna
are in 16th place - fighting to get and stay clear of the relegation zone
while Groningen are in 12th on 31 points, 7 ahead of the unfortunate
Sittardians. Still shaking after their 6 - 1 defeat in Heerenveen
last week the home team looked as ineffective as ever. In fact the
forwards on both sides are the most unproductive in the Ere Divisie and it
took until the 2nd half before Paul Jansen gave the visitors the advantage in the 57th
minute. Groningen seemed satisfied with the one goal and pulled back in
defence which gave Joost Volmer the chance to get a late equalizer in the 85th to save a point for Fortuna. |
| Heerenveen
smash Fortuna 6 - 1 |
21 Apr 2001
|
| The
Frieslanders have shown a lot of fight in recent matches and, with a game
in hand (they've only played 27 matches), they stand a good chance of a
significant jump up the ladder - if they can win a few before the end of
May. For Fortuna it's essential to grab every point they can get in their
fight ot avoid relegation. Heerenveen destroyed all hope for the
unfortunate Sittards (of them even getting un point) with 4 1st
half goals - anr
by Anthony Lurling in the 13th, another ball in the net from Jeffrey Talan
in the 18th and, 2 minutes later, a second goal from
Mr.Lurling. Marcus Allbäck got the 4th in the 42nd to guarantee
victory - surely there was nothing Fortuna could do about it. The Swede
added another in the 55th before Jochem van der Hoeven finally put one on
the board for the visitors in the 72nd. A last and 6th goal from Johan
Hansma for Heerenveen rounded off the tally for the evening. They are
now on equal 41 points with NAC, who drew with AZ, but pass them by into
9th place because they have a game in hand. |
| Ruud
Hesp's season over? |
14 Apr 2001
|
| Ruud
Hesp's season looks to be over after he broke a bone in his hand saving a
Patrick Ax shot during Fortuna's match against NEC yesterday. He is going
to be consulting specialists this weekend to see if there's an alternative
to having an operation which will allow him to finish the season. If not,
then reserve keeper Mark Zegers will have to step in for the last 6 league
matches. |
| Fortuna
go to 15th after 2 - 0 against NEC |
14 Apr 2001
|
| Fortuna's
luck seems finally to have changed as they claw their way out of the
danger zone with their 2nd win in a row, an encouraging 2 - 0 against NEC.
Nenad
Bjekovicd the score for the Sittardians in the 32nd minute and
Englishman Ronald
Hamming secured the win with a 90 minute goal. Relegation starts to look
less of a certainty now that they are 15th, one place above De Graafschap
(who have a game in hand), and don't have to face any of their competitors
at the bottom before the season ends. |
| Christiano
goal decides NAC Fortuna 1 - 0 |
31 Mar 2001
|
| Fortuna
seemed to be conserving energy after the last two wins against AZ and RBC
as they slumped to their 16th defeat in 26 matches (sentencing themselves
to the almost inevitable end of season playoffs). They dug themselves in
for a defensive 90 minutes - Ronald Hamming missed the few smallngs they had, blasting one over the bar in the 38th. NAC found the
wall pretty impenetrable, Doomernik and Féhér had chances early on but,
apart from managing the odd distance shot, there was little goalmouth
action - even their excitable supporters fell still, so it was good news
when a rebound from Rob Penders header (courtesy of a Brian Royfreekick)
gave Christiano the chance to score the only goal in the 65th minute. |
| Fortuna
let 4 players go |
28 Mar 2001
|
| Fortuna
are having to make cuts to balance their finances in preparation for next
season - one of the results is that the players Robert Roest, Wim Kiekens,
Ruud Kool and Ivo Pfennings will all be looking for a new club. |
| Fortuna
promote Gommans |
26 Mar 2001
|
| Fortuna
have promoted Junior Harrie Gommans to the first team squad. The 17
year-old is good with his head and has already scored 21 goals (some with
his feet) for the A-Juniors in Sittard and played a couple of times for
the reserve team. |
| AZ
in the dumps as they lose to Fortuna 0 - 2 |
17 Mar 2001
|
| Fortuna
had handed over the bottom of the table position to RBC last weekend and a
win against AZ would be very helpfull in keeping it that way. Ronald
Hamming put the visitors ahead in the 28th and secured victory with a 2nd
in the 53rd minute. The Alkmaarders have looked disheartened and
pretty ineffective since trainer Gerard van der Lem announced in December
that he intended to leave the club at the end of next season. In fact
they've only won against Fortuna's basement neighbour RBC, having lost 5
matches, drawn once and been knocked out of the Amstel Cup by Vitesse.
Neither team played well and the level of play on both sides was so weak
that noone was named man of the match! AZ will have to watch out they
don't slip further down the table now that Sparta are on the up, and
showing a new lease of life under their new trainer Wim van Hanegem, and
even Fortuna are showing signs of a cautious revival. |
| Fortuna
win battle at the bottom 2 - 1 against RBC |
10 Mar 2001
|
| RBC's
trainer Robert Maaskant has called in the help of a sports psychologist to
try and turn around the team's poor performances - see
elsewhere in our news for the story - a Dutch first and a rarity in
the world of football. There has been a considerable amount of money
pumped into the club (their budget's doubled since promotion last season),
they have a new stadium and seem to be the darling of the local sponsors
but, as we also point out in our latest Speakers
Corner story, money is no guarantee of success. This battle at the
bottom of the table was going to be a test of nerve for both sides - every
point counts now for both teams as they try to escape relegation. RBC got
off to a cracking start, taking the play to the home end and showing
definite signs of renewed motivation. They played the better football and
were better organised than Fortuna but the finishing lacked the vital
accuracy needed to get points on the scoreboard. Reggie Blinker missed
with several shots and it was Fortuna who hit with Ronald
Hamming (coming on as substitute for an ineffective Gerritsen) scoring twice early in the 2nd half (49th and 51st minutes) to give
the home team a good lead to hold onto. RBC were dismayed and it took a
while before they recovered enough to have another go at trying to level
the score with a (rather too) late surge of attacks - Marvin Brunswijk got a
last-thing-consolation-goal in the 89th for them. The relegation battle
has 10 matches to go for both teams and is not over yet! |
| Utrecht
beat unfortunate Fortuna 1 - 0 |
04 Mar 2001
|
| Dirk
Kuyt put the home team ahead in the 4th. Fortuna were unable to put up any
real attempt at doing anything about the one-goal difference and remain as
impotent in terms of goal scoring as ever. They didn't create the chances
needed to try and lift dented spirits let alone actually get some points
on the board - some urgent therapy is neede if they are to escape being
stuck at the bottom of the table. Utrecht didn't have to work hard for
their points and are in a happy 7th place. |
| RKC
beat Fortuna 1 - 0 |
24 Feb 2001
|
| Rick
Hoogendorp scored the only goal in the 35th, set up by Yuri Cornelisse, to give the Waalwijkers
the 3 points after missing chances early in the 1st half (he could have
scored twice in the first 5 minutes). Fortuna are still unable to come up
with a confidence boosting performance and stay sunk at the bottom of the
table. RKC are now in 6th place, breathing down
Vitesse's neck (in 4th), only a point behind them, and can continue to
dream of European football. |
| Ajax
beat Fortuna convincingly 3 - 0 |
16 Feb 2001
|
| The
Amsterdammers came needing a convincing win to get their spirits up and
their eyes focussed on those top 3 places, while Fortuna have not been so
fortunate this season and are stuck at the bottom of the table. Cedric van
der Gun and Wamberto on the wings caused continual problems for the
Sittard defenders Fritz Emeran and Edwin Hermans. Witschge was back
in the team for the first time since November 30th, replacing the injured
Rafael van der Vaart. His pass sent Wamberto off on a run to the
unfortunate Fortunard's goalline where he provided Tomás Galásek with
the chance tothe proceedings in the 10th minute. Van der Gun and
Machlas had a couple of eye to eye encounters with goalie Ruud Hesp before
Robert Roest's ball found Cedric van der Gun facing a frozen Hesp in the
24th to make it 2 - 0. The 2nd half was not quite as convincing as the 1st
but Fortuna's fate was well and truly sealed by substitute Fernando Cruz
(replacing a disappointing Machlas) who scored within 4 minutes of
entering the fray in the 76th. The difference between the teams was simply
too great for the home team to do anything about and they remain sunk at
the bottom in 16th place with 12 points from 20 games. Ajax achieved their
goal and are now 3rd with 40 points from 21 games. |
| Fortuna
set to hold end of season sale |
13 Feb 2001
|
| Lowly
Fortuna are getting ready to hold an end of season clearout of players (to
raise money/reduce the wage bill) so that they can afford to keep this
season's new additions Nenad Bjekovic, Fritz Emeran and Jan van Halst. It
looks as though captain Robert Roest may go (his contract is almost at an
end and he wants to move on to a club with a chance of playing European
football) and others will no doubt follow when the club announce the squad
for next season sometime in March. Bjekovic will miss the games against
Ajax, RKC and perhaps the match against Utrecht as well. He's done well
for the club so far with 2 goals in 3 games and trainer Thijssen will be
calling on Dennis Gerritsen to take his place next to Ronald Hamming. |
| Unfortunate
Fortuna have to miss Bjekovic |
10 Feb 2001
|
| Unlucky
Fortuna are going to have to do without their hot acquisition Nenad
Bjekovic (who's already scored twice in the 3 games he's played since
joining the club from Partisan Belgrade). The 26 year-old injured his knee
in the goalless draw with De Graafschap, and has since had an operation on
his meniscus which is going to take 4 weeks to heal. |
| Fortuna
in goalless draw against
De Graafschap |
04 Feb 2001
|
| The
unfortunate Fortunards were unable to profit from RBC's defeat to get off
the bottom rung of the table. This was a match of nervous football where,
though the home team were the better team, there just wasn't enough
confidence or self-belief to fuel goal-scoring chances. Fortuna have 12
points to show for 20 games, only one point below RBC, De Graafschap are
15th with 14 from 20. |
| Fortuna
beat Roda 1 - 0 |
31 Jan 2001
|
| Nana
Bjekovic scored in the 8th minute to give Fortuna an early lead - just
what the doctor ordered! He's proving again, after only 3 weeks at his new
club, to have been a good choice by coach Frans Thijssen. Roda looked a
pale imitation of the side who'd so soundly beaten Utrecht in the Cup,
lacking motivation and looking uninspired. The home team made all the
chances and it was only the excellent keeping of Australian Zeljko Kalac,
who stopped balls from Bjekovic, Joos van Barneveld, Marko Heering and top
scorer Ronald Hamming, that there weren't more goals on the scoreboard.
The new French signing Emeran saved a ball from the line in the dying
minutes, after Mark Nygaard's header looked as though it would go in, to
save the well deserved and essential-for-survival points for Fortuna. They
stay bottom, RBC winning surprisingly at NEC, but things are definitely
getting better. |
| Fortuna
call on French reinforcement |
30 Jan 2001
|
| The
French defender Fritz Emeran is making a move from Racing Genk, where he
has a contract till 2004, to help out at Fortuna Sittard. The 24 year-old
has not been seeing much 1st team action in Belgium and will be on hire
till the end of the season. He's played previously for AS Monaco, Stade
Rennes and KV Mechelen. |
| Fortuna
lose out to Twente 1-2 |
27 Jan 2001
|
| Twente
get their 2nd Amstel Cup win of the week - after taking out the last
amateur side Achilles '94 on Wednesday they went home from Limburg with a
quarter final place. Thijs Houwing scored in the 9th minute but Fortuna
came back with a goal in the 30th by hired gun Nenad Bjekovic (confirming
trainer Frans Thijssen's choice) to even things up. Scott Booth got what
turned out to be the match winner early in the 2nd half, an efficient
Twente kept the lid on the match till the final whistle. They now meet
Zwolle who knocked out Heracles in a decisive 5-1. |
| Fortuna
hire Partisan's Bejkovic |
11 Jan 2001
|
| Bottom
of the table Fortuna have hired Partisan Belgrade's Nenad Bejkovic. The 26
year-old Yugoslavian striker started his career in Belgrade, moved to France and
played for Marseilles and Nantes, went back to Partisan (where he formed a
successful partnership with Mateja Kezman) before going to AEK Athens. He
returned once more to his old club after a financial conflict in Greece
and now is on loan for the rest of the season at struggling Fortuna. They
hope to sign him in the summer, especially if he starts knocking in the
goals required to get them off the bottom rung of the Premier division
ladder (the club have only scored 13 goals in 18 matches). |
| Somalia
no use to Fortuna |
04 Jan 2001
|
| Feyenoord's
Brazilian forward Somalia is not going on loan to Fortuna
after all. The language barrier, he speaks only Portugese, proved to
be the deciding factor and he will now have to wait while Feyenoord look
for another home for him. |
| Henk
Duut Fortuna's new head of training |
04 Jan 2001
|
| Fortuna's
recently dismissed coach Henk Duut (replaced by Frans Thijssen) has been
given a new job to do at the club. He takes over as head of training and
will be helping the club's manager Fred van Barneveld with scouting
duties. Henk has been with the Limburgers since 1991 and was asked to step
aside for a new coach because of the team's poor performance this season. |
| Feyenoord
hires out Somalia to Fortuna |
20 Dec 2000
|
| The
23 year-old Brazilian striker Somalia is to be hired out for the rest of
the season to bottom of the table Fortuna (if they can get a work permit
for him). He was originally going back to his old club in Brazil, America
Belo Horizonte, but that fell through at the last minute. |
| Willem
II 3 - 1 against Fortuna |
16 Dec 2000
|
| After
anng period dominated by Willem II (but characterised also by sloppy
finishing) they went ahead in the 37th minute courtesy of Tom Caluwé,
against a strongly defensive Fortuna. Dennis Krijsgman got the equalizer
in the 51st minute which gave Fortuna hope and woke Willem up. They'd let
things slip but a terrific shot by Youssef Mariana put the home team 2-1
up in the 71st and Bombarda added a header to make the final score 3- 1 to
the Tilburgers. They climb to 8th while Fortuna continue to struggle with
7 points from 17 games. |
| Connolly
scores as Feyenoord win 2 - 4 at Fortuna |
14 Dec 2000
|
| The
latest acquisition in Rotterdam, Irishman David Connolly (fresh from
Excelsior) proved he was worth his (by today's standards) unassuming fee.
Fortuna went ahead in the 7th minute, after making a confident start to
the match, no doubt invigorated by their first win of the season last
weekend. Jan van Halst's sneaky through ball to Rolf Landerl was hit
firmly by the Austrian but Dudek got his hands to it, couldn't hold onto
it and had to watch as Gerritsen slipped the spinning rebound away for ther. Only 4 minutes later Mr. Connolly (evidently not suffering any
first night nerves - in on every attacking move Feyenoord made either as a
provider of the ball or a hitter of it) was on hand to provide the
equalizer. The visitors were looking good even without Bosvelt, Kornejev
and Leonardo (sensibly left out in the light of the Dutch Ministry for
Internal Affairs' advice not to field him - he seems to be in possession
of a false Portugese passport, and not the only Brazilian player in Europe
with false 'papers'). In the 18th minute Feyenoord underlined their
superiority when Paauwe made it 1-2 with a great strike and Ebi Smolarek
made it 1-3 from a Connolly pass just before halftime. Fortuna kept on
fighting in the 2nd half and Landerl almost got one back but soon after it
was Feyenoord's Tomasson who made it 1-4. Fortuna's determination was
finally rewarded with their 2nd when Dennis Krijgsman scored in the 62nd
minute. Feyenoord look good for the title on this showing and will be well
pleased with David Connolly's performance - we look forward to seeing more
of the man in Premier action. |
| First
win of season for Fortuna
2 Sparta 1 |
09 Dec 2000
|
| Things
are finally starting to change for unfortunate Fortuna. The boost of
knowing they've got a new trainer in former Fortuna player Frans Thijssen
gave them renewed confidence. Dennis
Gerritsen put the home team ahead in the 7th minute but Robert Roest
scored an own goal in the 15th. Sparta took heart and were the stronger
looking team for the rest of the 1st half, unfortunately for them Ruud
Hesp was once again on hand to stop them from scoring (I bet Barcelona are
really kicking themselves they let him go). There must have been a
halftime pep talk from the new trainer because the home team came out
reborn. They took control in midfield and Ronald Hamming got their 2nd and winning
goal in the 64th. This gives them their first win of the 15 matches played
so far this season. |
| Frans
Thijssen is Fortuna's new trainer |
07 Dec 2000
|
| The
former Dutch international 46 year-old Frans Thijssen is to be the new
trainer at Fortuna Sittard. He becomes Henk Duut's successor (sacked on
Nov. 27th). He played for the club between 1985 and 1987 as well as being
a midfielder for NEC, FC Twente, Ipswich Town, Nottingham Forest,
Groningen and Vitesse. For a short time he looked after De Graafschap and,
more recently, Swedish club Malmö FF. He will be presented to the press
this afternoon. We wish him all the best in his new job and hope he can
change Fortuna's fortunes. |
| Fortuna
set to sign Crewe striker Cramb |
04 Dec 2000
|
| The
transfer listed Crewe Alexandra striker Colin Cramb (out of favour with
manager Dario Gradi) is set to move to Holland and Fortuna Sittard. The
English club have already rejected an offer of €250.000 Euros but the
deal is still expected to be closed this week for a higher fee. |
| Unfortunate
Fortuna 0 Happier Utrecht 1 |
03 Dec 2000
|
| The
departure of Henk Duut has brought about no sudden change in fortunes for
Sittard and Utrecht profited from their lack of goal scoring, thanks to Igor Gluscevic's
winner in the 84th minute. This evening's result will please them as they
had not won away in 8 matches and they can use the points. They rise to 11th place with 18 points from 15
games. Both teams had something to prove. Utrecht, that it should able to
beat bottom of the table opposition, and Fortuna, that it still has some
fight left. Fortuna's spirit almost got them a quick goal - Gerritsen
missed 2 chances early on and Van der Halst (on loan from Ajax) had
another. In fact Utrecht hardly got a look in during the 1st half -
Fortuna doing their best to put moves together and coping well with the
visitors' attacks. The 2nd half got better and better as it went on,
Utrecht really began to relax and Fortuna continued to fight the good
fight. This gave the fans plenty of attractive, attacking football for
their money and both teams had a good brace of chances to test the back of
the net. Utrecht are lucky that Harald Wapenaar is so good in goal (they
came under increasing pressure as the 90 minutes drew to a close) and will
miss him when his (doping? see elsewhere) ban takes effect. They can also
count themselves lucky that Igor Gluscevic's shooting was on target to get
them those highly desirable 3 points. As for Fortuna they are sunk without a trace, and with only 4
points to show, but can be proud of their efforts and should build on the
positive things they put on show tonight. |
| Henk
Duut no longer Fortuna's trainer |
28 Nov 2000
|
| Bottom
of the table Fortuna have decided to find another job for 36 year-old Henk
Duut, who has been trainer since Bert van Marwijk's departure for
Feyenoord, but has been unsuccessful in getting the team back on its feet.
The loss of so many good players the last few seasons (Pauuwe to
Feyenoord, Ricksen to AZ and now Glasgow Rangers, Dirckx, Bouma, Bommel
and Hofland all to PSV) has gutted the team. The return from Barcelona of
Ruud Hesp to keep goal and the arrival of Van Halst from Ajax has not
helped sufficiently to improve their form. They have scored 7 goals in 13
matches and collected 4 points for their trouble. The recent inability of
striker Ronald Hamming to score has not been of help either. For the time
being assistant trainers Hans de Koning and Dick Voorn will look after the
team while the search begins for a new trainer. |
| De
Graafschap 5 -1 against Fortuna |
25 Nov 2000
|
| The
1st half an hour was more like Sunday amateur football than a Premier
Division clash. Both teams expended a lot of energy in running around,
sloppy passing and hopeful balls. It earnt both teams a stream of comments
from the 6,000 fans. After a couple of missed chances one of the hopeful
balls found Eric Viscaal with some space and he put it away tothe
score. This seemed to give De Graafschap some confidence - Viscaal had
another couple ofngs - and Marino Promes got a 2nd in the
44th. Dennis den Turk made it 3 in the 64th minute and, if Pascal
Averdijk's lone Fortuna goal gave them the idea that they had a chance to
clamber back, den Turk's next goal made it 4 for De Graafschap and
effectively destroyed any hope for them. Meerdink's 5th for the home team
only rubbing it in. Jurrie Koolhof will be pleased and relieved at the
result, having just taken over the reins after Rob McDonald's sacking.
Fortuna's trainer Henk Duut will be wondering how much longer he has. |
| Fortuna
draw 1 - 1 with AZ |
19 Nov 2000
|
| The
team from Sittard are struggling at the bottom of the table and AZ didn't
have to break out in a sweat to cope with them in the 1st half. It was
uninspiring, Buskermolen scoring for AZ just before half time. They took
it as a sign to take it even easier and Fortuna did their best to grab the
chance to get a home win on the books. Ronald Hamming came on for the home
side in the 79th minute - trying to inspire his team as he had done only a
few seasons ago - his goal scoring reputation no longer what it was - and
he obliged with a goal in the last minute of the match. We can only hope
that he goes on scoring in the coming games against the likes of De
Graafschap, Utrecht and Sparta to lift Fortuna's spirits and improve their
ranking. |
| Fortuna
draw with RKC Waalwijk 1 - 1 |
12 Nov 2000
|
| Bottom
of the table Fortuna have managed to get their first home draw of the
season. Their guests were off form, most of the time unable to find the
home team's goal and, if they did get a shot in, Fortuna's goalie Ruud
Hesp was ready to receive the ball with his safe hands. He was again in
terrific shape, keeping out everything that Waalwijk could throw(?) at
him. His teammates were obviously worried that they would suffer yet
another home defeat and couldn't loosen up enough to get some attacking
moves going. It wasn't until the 2nd half that the tempo was increased and
Fortuna started to move the ball around in a convincing manner. New
signing Van Halst gave Dennis Gerritsen the best chance they had to score
but he was denied by RKC's goalie Rob van Dijk. Waalwijk turned on the
heat in the closing stages of the match, defender Peter van den Berg
having a header saved in the 84th minute, only the balls flew everywhere
but in the Sittard net. Practically every RKC player had a shot at goal
during the match, Arjan Human had the most eye to eye meetings with Ruud
Hesp but even he didn't get one in. Fortuna's trainer Henk Duut refused to
see the white handkerchief's being waved in the crowd (he must be really
getting worried about his job now). RKC's trainer admitted after the match
that they had expected things to have been easier and had underestimated
Fortuna. |
| RBC
win duel with Fortuna 3 - 1 |
05 Nov 2000
|
| The
first game in their new "Vast & Goed" stadium was a fitting
celebration as RBC beat their bottom of the table neighbours Fortuna
Sittard. It was the visitors who shocked the home crowd into an early
silence when Ruud Kool cleverly put away a freekick past goalie Sieb
Dijkstra (back in the side with a chance to prove himself after a series
of blunders earlier in the season). RBC got over their shock - Henk Vos
and Reggie Blinker put them ahead before half time with 2 goals. In the
2nd half Fortuna had their chances but couldn't really get their attacks
going. It was left to Blinker to put away Vos' pass to make it 3 - 1 for
the home team 15 minutes before the final whistle. |
| Jan
Van Halst off to Fortuna |
02 Nov 2000
|
| Ajax
has lent 31 year old midfielder Jan van Halst to Fortuna Sittard
struggling at the bottom of the table. There is no place for him in
Amsterdam at the moment and he will have plenty to do helping out
unfortunate Fortuna. |
| Fortuna
fail to win at Roda JC 1 - 0 |
02 Nov 2000
|
| The
unfortunate Sittardians are still sunk at the bottom of the table after
this defeat by Roda. Their fans couldn't join them for the match after
some hooligans vandalised Roda's stadium earlier in the week and hired gun
Jan van Halst (from Ajax) wasn't eligible to play yet. Fortuna's goalie
Ruud Hesp had celebrated his 350th appearance at the weekend against NAC
(he's never missed a match) and has returned from Barcelona for his 11th
season in Dutch football's top. The visitors were no problem for Roda in
the first half, having only a couple of small chances. Regilio Vrede put a
rebound away in the 40th minute for the only goal of the match. The home
side remained threatening in the 2nd half and had the chance to seal their
victory through shots by Eric van der Luer and Garba Lawal. Fortuna also
finally started to look as though they had something to say after all and
provided Bas Roorda, in goal for Roda, with some difficulties but he kept
any shot that came his way out of the net. Fortuna sit unhappily at the
bottom with 2 points from 9 games. |
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