Yesterday evening we had the away match versus Amersfoort. At home we achieved a 6-2 win but this time we were missing Karina de Wit who is pregnant.
As usual we started with the men’s doubles. Koen and I met Jelle Maas and Joely Residay. Koen is not yet completely fit and could hardly train the past week. Still we made it a good match. The first game was fine and also in the second game we never really lost control.
Simultaneously Akvile Stapusaityte and Eva Krab were playing the ladies doubles versus Eefje Muskens and Maartje Verheul. During this match our ladies did get chances but at decisive moments the Amersfoort pair was better. Intermediate score 1-1.
Erik Meijs met Edwin Ekiring in the first men’s single and he played well but it wasn’t easy at all. After having won the first game he started well in the second and it looked like he had nothing to worry about but then he lost his advantage and Edwin forced him to play a third game. During this game a very unfortunate finishing stroke of Edwin put the shuttle in Erik’s eye but he recovered quickly and he kept his concentration. He finally won the game and the match.
Substitute Betty Timmerman found herself in competition with Kirsten van der Valk and she played more than well in the first game but finally she couldn’t get the profits. In the second game the candle slowly died and Kirsten could strike.
In the second men’s single Jerry Natenstedt played in fact a very good match versus Nick Fransman who was keen on revenge after his loss in Haarlem. Where the first game was still decided in favour of Jerry it was Nick who took control in the next two games and who claimed the win.
In the second ladies single Akvile met Gayle Mahulette and it became a match with ups and downs. Akvile kept her best performance for the last stage and she won the third game convincingly. This meant a 3-3 intermediate score.
The sting was in the tail of this league confrontation. In the mixed doubles Eva and I had trouble in finding the right rhythm in the first game versus Jelle Maas and Eefje Muskens and we lost this game. With hard work and the right fighting spirit we managed to decide the second game in our favour but in the beginning of the third game we lost too many points and we couldn’t bridge this gap anymore. Eefje and Jelle deserved to win this match.  Â
Finally the occasional mixed double of Erik Meijs and Betty Timmerman was won by the Amersfoort pair Joely Residay and Maartje Verheul putting the final score on 5-3, our first loss of this season. Somehow this requires a different mindset. I have thought it over and I must say: I don’t like it ONE bit.
Next weekend there are two home matches scheduled. Saturday at 7 PM we’ll meet Roosteren and on Sunday at 2 PM Velo will be our opponent. It’s going to be all hands on deck so please come to the Duinwijck hall and support us!