Eerste Divisie Roundup

04 May 2002

Heracles beat Veendam 4-1 The visitors put on a weak performance last night by allowing Heracles too much freedom in the penalty area. Marnix Smitd the score in the 3rd minute of the game with a beautiful free- kick that sailed over the wall of defenders into the far left- hand corner of the net. After Rik Platvoet and Roy Stroeve had narrowly missed for Heracles, Berry Hoogeveen made it 2-0 for the home side, profiting from a defensive blunder. A couple of minutes later Roy Stroeve had a goal disallowed for eligibly fouling the Veendam goalkeeper Peter van der Vlag. Just before the break Stroeve was found the back of the net again and this time his goal was actually allowed  by the referee. In the 61st minute Rik Platvoet made it 4-0 for Heracles and, 2 minutes later, Berry Hoogeveen 'scored' but for some obscure reason his goal was also disallowed. In the 74th minute Veendam finally managed to pull one back after Iwan Tzvetkov netted from close range, his 22nd goal of the season making him the Eerste Divisie top scorer this season.

Roy Stroeve's future uncertain

29 Apr 2002

Roy Stroeve's future is uncertain and, according to Heracles coach Gert-Jan Verbeek, Sparta are to blame! The Rotterdammers have apparently renegued on an earlier agreement that the striker could make his stay at Heracles a permanent one! Verbeek is not at all amused saying, "Sparta are acting on the assumption that they will not survive the playoffs and will be relegated this time round. On the basis of that assumption they seem to think that Stroeve is sufficient for their 'needs' in Eerste Divisie-land next season. This kind of uncertainty has a negative effect on a player's concentration and that's been clearly visible during the last few weeks"!!

Eerste Divisie Roundup

26 Apr 2002

RBC beat Heracles 2-0. Although Heracles were a fraction better than RBC in the first half it was the home team whod the score. John van Loenhout, who later departed with a knee injury, passed 2 defenders and then netted from a difficult angle. Henk Vos came close to scoring a couple of minutes later but his shot was well saved by Van Loo. In the 2nd half RBC were more dominant and, in the 65th minute, increased their lead after Maseland nodded in a corner. After the 2-0 Heracles' resistance broke and RBC were able to coast to the final whistle.

First Division Roundup

19 Apr 2002

Heracles draw with Den Haag  0-0. Den Haag won the 4th Period title and secured a place in the end-of-season playoffs after drawing 0-0 away to Heracles. Den Haag's supporters watched the match in Den Haag's stadium on a big screen after they had refused to make the journey to Almelo as a protest against only being allocated 200 tickets for the match. Although the 0-0 score would seem to suggest otherwise, the game was quite entertaining with both sides having numerous attempts at goal saved by on-form goalies. Den Haag came close to scoring at the beginning of the 1st half when Leonardo's header narrowly missed the bar in the 4th minute. Heracles replied in the 12th minute but Rik Platvoet's 20 meter shot clipped the post. In the 30th minute Den Haag's goalkeeper did well in saving Roel Buikema's free-kick and, from the resulting corner, Den Haag midfielder Remco Heerkens saved on the line. In the 44th minute Den Haag's goalie managed another fine save by stopping another Roel Buikema free kick. Heracles' Roy Stroeve, who had rather an off-day, hit the post 2 minutes into the 2nd half and, 5 minutes later, saw his badly taken penalty saved by Roland Jansen.  In the 69th minute Den Haag also came close to scoring again but Heracles goalie Brian de Loo somehow managed to save Ferry Bodde's shot.

First Division Roundup

12 Apr 2002

Haarlem draw with Heracles  0-0 Heracles were hoping for 3 points but had to be content with just the one and are now no longer serious candidates for the 4th period title.  The home side dominated until the last 10 minutes of the match and Sijmen Tol was unlucky not to haved the score for Haarlem in the 10th minute when his 35 yard free-kick clipped the post. 7 minutes later Tol  narrowly missed again when his 30 metre volley sailed a few centimetres over the crossbar. Halfway through the second half Haarlem's Didi Longuet somehow failed to net the ball by shooting wide from just 2 meters. With only 10 minutes left on the clock Heracles managed to take control of the match.  Rik Platvoet saw his 85th minute shot miraculously saved by goalie Serge van de Ban and 1 minute later Berry Hoogeveen saw his header hit the bar. In the dying seconds of the match Heracles even had a goal disallowed after Roy Stroeve was considered to have been offside.

First Division Roundup

06 Apr 2002

Heracles beat Cambuur 2 - 0. Heracles were determined to put on a good show and fight for their last chance to snatch the 4th period title. The home side should have taken the lead in the 5th minute but Berry Hoogeveen's header sailed a few millimeters over the crossbar. A couple of minutes later Roy Stroeve also came close to scoring for Heracles but failed in front of angoal. In the 42nd minute Heracles finally managed to find the back of the net. Rik Platvoet soloed through Cambuur's defense before shooting hard behind the Cambuur goalie. Just 1 minute later Berry Hoogeveen found anotherng in Cambuur's defense, passing the ball to the eagerly awaiting Thijs Sluiten who calmly tapped it away into the far right hand corner of the net. Although the 1st 20 minutes of the second half belonged to Cambuur they were unable to score. Heracles took back control of the match for the remaining 20 minutes, and came  close to scoring, but the 2-0 remained the final score.

First Division Roundup

30 Mar 2002

Dordrecht beat Heracles  3 - 1. Heracles' run of 4 wins in a row came to an abrupt end last night with a 3-1 defeat at Dordrecht. Marco Boogers put Dordrecht into the lead in the 29th minute with an impressive scissor-kick. 2 minutes into the second half Rachid el Khalifi made it 2 - 0 and in the 69th put away the 3 - 0 with his second of the evening. Although Ruud Jansen managed to pull one back for the visitors in the 72 minute the rest of the game was a mere formality.

First Division Roundup

23 Mar 2002

Heracles beat G.A.Eagles 3 - 1 Heracles won 3 valuable points last night in the race for the 4th period title.  They couldn't have got off to worse start, as defender Peter Reekers scored an own goal in the 2nd minute, (his 1st 'goal' of the season). This did not deter Heracles and within 2 minutes they drew level via Thijs Sluiter. 3 minutes later Eagles goalkeeper Van der Kwaak half-stopped a shot from Rik Platvoet only to see Platvoet score from the rebound. 1 minute into the second half Roy Stroeve put the final 3 - 1 on the score board with his 16th goal of the season.

Dennis te Braak to leave Heracles

16 Mar 2002

Dennis te Braak is to leave Heracles Almelo this summer when his contract runs out. The 28 year-old midfielder has been with the club since 1999 but has becomed sidelined this season under trainer Gert Jan Verbeek. Nebil Cimen and striker Mark van Losser will also be leaving, the former's contract is not being extended while the latter has chosen to give up professional football for a 'normal' job! Pascal Diender, in his first season with the club, will  be getting a contract extension this summer.

First Division Roundup

15 Mar 2002

VVV lost to Heracles 1 - 2. In a mediocre match VVV's defender Edwin Linssen scored an own-goal to give the visitors the lead in the 3rd minute. Ruud Jansen added a 2nd in the 77th and Paul Jans got one back for the home team in the 82nd.

Twente and Heracles sign cooperation pact

09 Mar 2002

The respective chairmen of Twente and Heracles Almelo signed a cooperation document yesterday which should lead to an exchange of players and sharing of scouting expertise. There are also plans to create a regional youth academy which should 'kick-off' in the summer of 2004. The two clubs have traditionally only 'shared' mutual feelings of animosity for each other and this 'pact' has finally come to fruition through the efforts of two 'outsiders', Twente's technical director Jaap Uilenberg and the new Heracles trainer, Gert-Jan Verbeek. The increasing financial problems faced by many clubs has forced Heracles to swallow its pride and face up to the cruel reality of modern-day football where only the financially-fittest will survive the coming years. Both clubs retain their independence while hoping to benefit from pooling their know-how and resources.

First Division Roundup

09 Mar 2002

Heracles beat Volendam 3 - 2 Heracles made a promising start against Volendam, Thijs Sluijter seeing his shot saved on the line by midfielder Maurice Buys in the 3rd minute. After that Volendam took control of the first half.  Donny de Grootd the score for the visitors in the 25 minute but, 5 minutes later, Heracles equalized via a Rik Platvoet scrimmage goal, his 10th of the season. Roy Stroeve made it 2 - 1 for the home side 4 minutes into the second half, rounding off a corner with a beautiful header. Volendam tried to get back into the match but Heracles played the better football,  and dominated most of the second half.  In the 70th minute Platvoet made it 3 - 1 with his second goal of the evening. Donny de Groot put the 3-2 on the scoreboard 5 minutes before the final whistle with his second goal of the evening.

First Division Roundup

02 Mar 2002

Heracles beat  Helmond Although Heracles started the game well, putting Helmond under pressure, it was the visitors who created the best chances in the beginning. Ex-PSVer Juul Ellerman saw his header bounce off the post in the 23rd minute. The second half belonged to the home side. Roy Stroeve narrowly missed the goal with a shot that skimmed the crossbar and, 5 minutes later, Thijs Sluijter hit the post.  2 minutes after that Roy Stroeve  missed yet another chance, failing to score before angoal. In the 55th minute Heracles finally managed to get one on the board when Berry Hoogeveen rounded off a fine cross from Thijs Sluiter. 10 minutes later Berry Hoogeveen was once again on target scoring his 2nd of the evening. Although a 3 - 0 score seemed the likely outcome of the evening it was Helmond that got one back with the last goal of the evening, Raoul Henar making it 2-1 after the visitors were awarded a penalty for a foul on Juul Ellerman.

First Division Roundup

22 Feb 2002

MVV lose to  Heracles  2- 3. MVV were a little unlucky not to have managed a draw this evening, after a 2nd half penalty was saved and they twice from behind to level the score. Rik Platvoet put the visitors ahead in the 9th minute then Harvey Wijngaarde levelled the score in the 15th. Roel Buikema made it 1 - 2 in the 37th minute. 2 minutes into the second half Tiziano Liobardi scored his first goal of the season for MVV to even the score, 2 - 2.  In the 60th minute Arvid Smit scored Heracles 3rd goal of the evening giving them their first win this year.

Division 1 Roundup

15 Feb 2002

Heracles lost to Stormvogels/TelstarThijs Sluiter put Heracles ahead in the 7th minute, Roy Stroeve put away his 14th of the season for the 2 - 0 in the 19th. After the break Laurens ten Heuvel got one back for the 2 - 1, Telstar were gifted a Heracles own-goal in the 52nd to level the scores, Justin Stuy put them in the lead in the 58th, Danny Schenkel added a 4th in the 76th and Ten Heuvel scored his 2nd of the evening in the 90th.  Both teams are on 25 points, Telstar ahead on goal difference in 13th with 22 played and Heracles in 14th with 23 played.

08 Feb 2002