Roelofsen swaps Zwolle for Heracles

18 May 2003

Zwolle striker Richard Roelofsen will be leaving the Eredivisie outfit at the end of this season to play for Eerstedivisie side Heracles. Roelofsen, whose has been refused an extension, is currently the club's top-scorer on seven goals and has netted 32 goals in the three years that he has been with the club.  Zwolle are hoping to sign Excelsior's Marc Nygaard to fill in the vacant strikers position for next season.

Heracles plastic turf experiment.

19 Mar 2003

Eerste Divisie side Heralces are to be the first professional club in Holland to install an artificial pitch. The UEFA have chosen four European clubs to participate in an experiment with plastic turf and now that the clubs in the Eerste Divisie have also agreed to play on Heralces's new surface, the trials can begin. Ajax, who have tremendous problems with their own pitch in the Amsterdam Arena,  had also expressed their desire to participate in the experiment but were confronted with too much opposition from Ere Divisie clubs.

UEFA chose Heracles in grass project

19 Feb 2003

Not the Amsterdam Arena but Heracles Almelo will be the first club in the Netherlands to install an artificial pitch after being given the go ahead by the UEFA. The UEFA have picked 5 European clubs to take part in a pilot project to examine the effects of playing on artificial grass. Ere Divisie clubs Ajax and NEC were also interested in taking part in the project but the UEFA gave preferance to Heracles. The other 4 teams to take part in the experiment are ,Torpedo Moskow(Russia), Denizlispor (Turkey), Austria Salzburg (Austria) and Örebrö (Sweden).

Volendam lose to Heracles 0-2

20 Dec 2002

Roel Buikemad for Heracles, neatly shooting in defender Ruud Janssen's cross. Buikema was once again on target in the 38th minute, this time shooting ex-Volendam player, Yuri Rose's cross. In the 2nd half Volendam also came close to scoring a few times but were unlucky in their finishing.

Heracles draw 1-1 with Veendam

13 Dec 2002

Heracles dropped 2 valuable points this evening after their 0-0 draw against Veendam.   Both teams had opportunities to breakthe score but the goalkeepers were on form tonight.  Brian van Loo held Heracles in the game, stopping shots from Yuri Rose, Paul Weerman and Max Houttuin and towards the end of the match somehow managing to save a shot from Heracles's own defender Ruud Jansen.  Veendam's goalie also had a busy night helping his team snatch the 1 point with saves from Rik Platvoet , Yuri Rose and Thijs Sluiter.

G.A. Eagles draw with Heracles 2-2

06 Dec 2002

With both teams in the race for the periode title the visitors were treated to an entertaing match. The home side began well, forcing 3 corners in the first 3 minutes of the game but Heralces stood their ground. During the first 45 minutes both teams pushed forward and it was a wonder the 1st half ended in 0-0.  2 minutes into the 2nd half Koen Brakd the score, cleverly nudging in a Yildirim free kick. 2 minutes later Rik Platvoet equalised for the visitors and in the 77th minute he put Heracles ahead with his 2nd of the evening, making him the ere divisie's top scorer. (14goals !) In the 80th minute Ugar Yildirim put the final 2-0 on the board with the well earned equalizer.

Sparta lose to Heracles 2-3

01 Nov 2002

Heracles started well, creating more chances in front of goal than the home-side and were unlucky not to haved the score in theng minutes of the game via Platvoet and Yuri Rose. However, it was Sparta who went ahead in the 8th minute via their topscorer Danny Koevermans, finishing off a Lorenzo Rimkus shot that ricocheted off the post and into the path of Koevermans. A few minutes before the break Heracles should have made it 0-2 but Berry Hoogeveen somehow managed to miss from 3 meters, his shot hitting the post. 3 minutes after the break John Stegeman levelled for the visitors and another 3 minutes later Thijs Sluiter made it 1-2 for Heracles. In the 77th minute Koevermans was once again on target, levelling the score with his 6th goal of the season. Unfortunately for Sparta, Heracles were not deterred by the equalizer and carried on pushing forward. 5 minutes before the final whistle they were rewarded for their efforts with a beautiful Gerard Kocks lob, putting the final 2-3 on the scoreboard.

Heracles lose at home to Emmen 2-3

29 Nov 2002

Heracles drop to 3rd place while Emmen go into 2nd after this evening's 2-3 win. Emmen took the lead after Ruud Janssen unfortunately netted an own goal. Donny de Groot increased the lead to 3-0 with goals in the 45th and 67th minute, bringing his seasonal tally to 11 goals. Stegeman and Own Goal Janssen put some excitement back into the match with 2 late goals 75th and 81st.

Heerenveen's Hegeman on loan to Heracles

28 Nov 2002

Heerenveen's Mark Hegeman will be playing out the rest of the season for Eerste Divisie Heracles Almelo. The 26 year-old defender has seen very little action in Friesland, playing only 7 matches since arriving at the Abe Lenstra stadium in 2001. At Heracles he'll be reunited with coach Gert-Jan Verbeek, who used to work at Heerenveen. Hegeman began his career with Eerste Divisie side Emmen, making his debut on December 11th 1993 in the 4-1 defeat by Haarlem, where he played 108 matches.

Heracles miss Leurink for 4-6 weeks

23 Nov 2002

Heracles Almelo will miss defender Erwin Leurink for the next 4 - 6 weeks after he picked up a knee injury in the November 1st Eerste Divisie match against Sparta.

Helmond beat Heracles 2-0

22 Nov 2002

Eerste Divisie leaders Helmond were treated to a 2-0 defeat this evening and now see Emmen reduce the gap to 1 point.  Helmond top scrorer Kantelberg scored both goals for the homeside(22nd, 44th), bringing his seasonal tally to 10 goals.

Heracles too strong for TOP Oss 4-0

16 Nov 2002

Table-toppers were clearly too strong for TOP Oss, reflected in the 4-0 scoreline. They kicked-off in attacking mood and had a few chances early on including a disallowed Platvoet goal. The Ossers tried to get into the game but were kept busy defending and, after a couple morengs, it came as no surprise when Yuri Rose headed in ther in the 33rd. Rik Platvoet doubled the score from a rebound off goalie Guido Budziak in the 44th and, ten minutes later, Thijs Sluijter made it 3-0. Heracles controlled the rest of the match and John Stegman's 89th shot was the icing on the cake, keeping the home team top-of-the-table.

Cambuur thrashed by Heracles

11 Nov 2002

Heracles made amends for their defeat last week by Haarlem, thrashing Cambuur at home 1-7,  Man of the night was Rick Platvoet, scoring an amazing 5 goals.  Platvoetd the score in the 23rd minute of the match and increased the lead to 0-2, 2 minutes later. Although Ferdinand Katipina made it 1-2 in the 25th, the visitors soared ahead, Platvoet making it 1-3  in the 38th and Yuri Rose bringing the 1-4 half-time score on the board in the 41st. After the break Rick Platvoet was twice again on target, scoring the 1-5 in the 59th and 3 minutes later the 1-6 with his 5th goal of the evening. Rachid Tabari put more salt into Cambuur's wounds in the 71st minute of the match by making it 1-7 , bringing Cambuur their biggest defeat since 1958 !.

Heracles beat Telstar 2 - 1

25 Oct 2002

Melvin Holwijnd the score for the visitors in the 9th minute of the match with his 5th goal of the season. Rick Platvoet levelled for Heracles 2 minutes into the second half after the home side were awarded a penalty for an attack on Thijs Sluiter. With just 1 minute of play left to go, the home side were awarded another penalty which Rick Platvoet coolly put away for his 7th goal of the season.

Den Haag beat Heracles 3-0

18 Oct 2002

ADO Den Haag have won the Eerste Divisie first period title with this 3-0 home win against Heracles. They should have wrapped up the match in theng half after goals by Peter Hofstede, 34th from a Ferry Bodde freekick, and 5 minutes later Roy Stroeve made it 2-0 but Romeo Castelen wasted a golden opportunity to beat Brian van Loo close to the halftime whistle. Castelen had a 2nd chance soon after the break and, in a one-two with Stroeve, this time making no mistake for the 3-0.

Heracles beat MVV 3-1

04 Oct 2002

Heracles Almelo wanted a win tonight to stay in the running for the First Period Title. the match got off in high tempo with tow great chances for Heracles Almelo, Rik Platvoet shooting just wide after 8 minutes. MVV got into the match and had a goos chance to go ahead when Thomas Daumantas loosed a good shot after 23 minutes. Heracles Almelo showed more initative and  Marnix Smitd the core from a terrific freekick in the 29th. 4 minutes later Rik Platvoet came close but lacked precision while MVV were able to equalize on the stroke of half-time when John Mutsaers capitalized on a lack of concentration in the home team's defence. Heracles Almelo had the opportunity to go ahead 6 minutes into the 2nd half but Yuri Rosé shot just wide. In the 57th Roel Buikema made the 2-1 with a fine blast and 8 minutes later Rik Platvoet forced a fine save from goalie Dennis van Veghel to prevent the 3-1 from going on the board, leaving Mark Looms to curl in the 3rd Heracles goal in the 73rd.

Heracles win 1-0 at Eindhoven

27 Sep 2002

Heracles were the fortunate team able profit from Emmen's dropped points at Haarlem with an away win against Eindhoven. Gert Jan Verbeek's team went home with the points thanks to Rudy Jansen's goal.

Heracles beat Fortuna 3-2

20 Sep 2002

Heracles Almelo stay in touch with table-toppers Emmen after a 3-2 against Fortuna. After Heracles went 2-0 up Joos van Barneveld and Harry Gomans drew the Sittardians level, and it began to look as if Gert Jan Verbeek's team would drop some points for the 2nd time this season, before Rachid Tibari snatched the winner in the 90th minute.

Dordrecht lose to Heracles 3-4

13 Sep 2002

The match between Dordrecht and Heracles provided the most spectacle tonight with 7 goals in total. Yuri Rosed the score for Heracles but after Peter Reekers' red card Dordrecht got into gear with goals by Marco Boogers and El Khalifi. The visitors refused to lie down and die, despite missing a man, and two goals by Rik Platvoet and a 4th by Roel Buikema put them ahead. Hans van der Woude reduced the gap but Dordrecht couldn't catch up in time to earn a point.

Heracles beat AGOVV 2-1 in Amstel Cup

05 Sep 2002

Heracles Almelo and AGOVV have played the last of the qualifying round Amstel Cup matches last night with the Eerste Divisie side winning 2-1 thanks to two goals by John Stegeman, Santinho Lopes Monteiro scoring for AGOVV. Heracles are now confirmed top of Group 16 and both teams go through to the 1st round proper of the Cup, Heracles facing Haarlem and AGOVV facing Volendam. The match, which saw the debut for Heracles of Rachid Tibari (on hire from RC Genk), was originally planned for August 20th but it had to be postponed due to bad weather.

Heracles hire Rachid Tibari

02 Sep 2002

Heracles Almelo have added Rachid Tibari to their squad. The 22 year-old striker comes from RC Genk on a loan deal for one season. The young Belgian, who's equally at home on the left as the right-wing, has lost his place in the squad at Genk where, in three seasons he's only played 11 league matches. At Heracles he'll have to compete with Yuri Rose, Thijs Sluijter and Rik Platvoet for a place in the lineup.

Heracles lose to Den Bosch 1-4

31 Aug 2002

Heracles who kicked off the season with a 7 - 0 win against Haarlem, followed by a convincing 1 - 3 win against VVV, were totally out of form this evening and were easily beaten by Den Bosch with goals by Jansen 44th, Van der Laak 60th, 76th and Maximano 68th. Stegeman scored Heracles' one and only goal in the 69th.

VVV lose to Heracles 1 - 3

24 Aug 2002

After an entertaining first half in which Heracles managed to score 3 goals, the game fizzled out.  Roel Buikema put the visitors ahead after only 5 minutes of play with a well taken free-kick.  2 quick goals in succession by Berry Hoogenveen (34th) and Thijs Sluiter (38th) put an end to any illusions VVV may have had of a better result. Substitute Ben Mbemba scored a consolation goal for the home side in the 88th minute

Heracles demolish Haarlem 7-0

16 Aug 2002

Heracles dealt Haarlem a deadly blow within a 20 minute period with a leading role for Rik Platvoet. After scoring 4 goals in the recent Amstel Cup match against amateurs Be Quick '28, in tonight's match he put away a hattrick in the space of 6 minutes! He equals an existing record set by Wim van Hanegem on 17th April 1971 when he put away 3 for Feyenoord in 6 minutes against Excelsior. Thijs Sluijter added another two goals in the 19 minute onslaught on the Haarlem goal and the win gives trainer Gertjan Verbeek the top-of-the-table position.