Heracles Almelo started this Eredivisie season very strong with a very easy win against ADO Den Haag. Heracles played a 4-2-3-1 formation against ADO’s 4-4-2, which turned into 5-3-2 when defending. Frank Wormuth’s side tried to patiently play it out from the back looking for their wingers to create danger with two roaming midfielders creating space and attacking fullbacks. In the 49th minute Heracles finally scored their first goal after Rai Vloet headed in a corner kick. In the 72nd minute they got their second goal through Silvester van der Water who tapped the ball into an open goal after a quick counter attack. The hosts should’ve probably scored one or two more extra goals, but missed some big chances against ADO Den Haag, who played with 10 men for the final 20 minutes after Boy Kemper got his second yellow card.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, re-watch
- D – Below average in this match
Silvester van der Water
Player profile:
- Nationality: Dutch
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 30/08/1996
- Current club: Heracles Almelo
- Career: Almere City, Heracles Almelo
- Position: Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Left
Silvester van der Water, who has been linked with Orlando City recently, played as the right winger and was involved in almost every dangerous situation that Heracles created. Van der Water had an absolute field day against ADO’s left back Boy Kemper and eventually got him sent off after Kemper grabbed his second yellow card after fouling van der Water for the third time.
Van der Water often positioned himself close to the sideline and often tried to cut inside to his favoured left foot multiple times. Other times when right back Breukers would push forward, van der Water would sit a little more centrally trying to pickup the ball in the middle of the pitch. He showed that he has good technique and dribbling, beating his opponent Kemper very easily and ending the match with eleven successful dribbles. He was very unpredictable as he didn’t always cut inside and wasn’t afraid to try and put in a cross with his right foot. He also abused the spaces behind ADO’s defence a couple of times by simple taking a very heavy touch and beating Boy Kemper for pace. Van der Water seemed quite explosive on the first few meters and was also pretty strong on the ball. When the spaces were a bit smaller however van der Water struggled a little more with his technique, losing the ball a couple of times.
Looking at his end product against ADO there is still room to improve for van der Water. In the first half he put in a couple of poor crosses, where he should’ve taken a little more time to look for his teammates. In the second half however this went a lot better, as he put in multiple dangerous crosses and really deserved another assist. His finishing let him down a little more against ADO. The winger had three other shooting opportunities besides his goal, but didn’t look too sharp. There were also other moments where van der Water seemed to lack a bit of concentration. He was a little sloppy in his passing at times and lost the ball two times on his own half, when he really shouldn’t have lost it. Luckily for him nothing happened with it.
Rating – B1
Van der Water played a very strong game, but I can’t ignore the fact that ADO den Haag is probably one of the weakest opponents. I think van der Water is a good player, but just lacks a little skill to be of use for the best sides in the Eredivisie. A move to the MLS would be very nice for him.
Orestis Kiomourtzoglou
Player profile:
- Nationality: German/Greek
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 07/05/1998
- Current club: Heracles Almelo
- Career: SpVgg Unterhaching, Heracles Almelo
- Position: Defensive Midfield
- Secondary position: Centre Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Orestis Kiomourtzoglou played as Heracles’ right sided defensive midfielder next to Teun Bijleveld and just behind Rai Vloet. The 22-year old midfielder played a very solid game for his team and was a very important part of their midfield. When Heracles had possession Kiomourtzoglou often dropped back to pick up the ball and lead the build up for his team. There was quite a bit of variety in Heracles’ build up play as Kiomourtzoglou sometimes dropped back and was positioned as an extra centre back in the middle or on the right side giving more freedom to the wing backs to attack. Other times he would be the only defensive midfielder, playing very centrally, giving Teun Bijleveld more freedom to go forward.
On the ball he was very composed against ADO, who also didn’t make it very hard for him barely putting any pressure on him. Kiomourtzoglou’s passing was very good against ADO den Haag as he barely made any mistakes with his short passes. Towards the end of the match when ADO was down to ten men he started to get a little sloppy a few times, probably due to a lack of concentration something which more players had. He didn’t play too many long passes, but it looked like that is an aspect he can improve on as they weren’t always accurate. Technically the midfielder seemed pretty strong. His ball control and first touch were very good and he wasn’t afraid to carry the ball forward when needed.
Defensively Kiomourtzoglou wasn’t really tested too much, but he didn’t always look too sharp. He doesn’t strike me as the most physical player, as he had quite some troubles in some of his 1v1’s. He seems to have quite a decent top speed, but on the first few meters he seemed not too fast. Standing at 6’2” he is quite a tall midfielder which helped him to win almost every aerial duel he had this game. Kiomourtzoglou seemed to have great tactical awareness however. He positioned himself very well, depending on where his teammates where and where the ball was, and helped the right back Breukers when he was isolated in a 1v1 duel.
Rating – B1
Kiomourtzoglou’s role could be easily overlooked, but he is a very important player for Heracles. I think he could surely make a small step to a team like FC Utrecht or Vitesse and improve there.
Teun Bijleveld
Player profile:
- Nationality: Dutch
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 27/05/1998
- Current club: Heracles Almelo
- Career: AZ (Y), Ajax (Y), Heracles Almelo
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Preferred foot: Left
Teun Bijleveld played next to Orestis Kiomourtzoglou on Heracles’ midfield, but had a lot more freedom to go forward and roam from his position. Bijleveld wasn’t as involved in the game as his partner on the midfield, but created a lot of danger with his creativity and dangerous runs.
Compared to Orestis Kiomourtzoglou and Rai Vloet Teun Bijleveld took a lot more risks when he had the ball. He liked to dribble past his opponent often and did very well with smart body feints and great technique. The midfielder would try to play forward passes most of the times, which he did very well. Bijleveld would often play next to the attacking midfielder Rai Vloet, when Kiomourtzoglou would sit in the middle, and was often trying to receive the ball between the lines. With the ball at his feet he was often looking to play smart passes or for short combinations, instantly making runs after passing the ball to be able to receive it again. He also made a couple of dangerous runs behind the ADO’s defense which were also dangerous if he didn’t get the ball as it would drag ADO players out of their position. Bijleveld tried a couple of long shots, with mixed success. One of them was quite dangerous as it just bounced before the goalkeeper, but overall his shooting didn’t look like a real weapon.
Being 5’9” Bijleveld isn’t a very physical player. He did alright in his defensive duels, but is still pretty frail. In his aerial duels he did surprisingly well, winning most of them. His timing in the air looked pretty good and he has a decent jumping range.
Rating – B2
Bijleveld’s creativity could be really useful for Heracles. He has a lot of areas to improve on, but could be a good asset in the Eredivisie in the future.
Mats Knoester
Player profile:
- Nationality: Dutch
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 19/11/1998
- Current club: Heracles Almelo
- Career: Feyenoord (Y), Heracles Almelo
- Position: Centre Back
- Secondary position: Left Back
- Preferred foot: Left
The 21-year old Mats Knoester didn’t have to do that much defensive work against ADO den Haag and didn’t seem to struggle too much against ADO’s strikers Kramer and Arweiler. Knoester played as the left centre back next to Robin Pröpper and really didn’t take any big risks this game. In build up he mostly just played simple passes to Kiomourtzoglou, Hardeveld or Pröpper and barely made any errors with his passing. Sometimes Knoester would step in the midfield with the ball, but only when he had the space to do so without having to take on an opponent.
Knoester was up against two strong and tall strikers, which made for some interesting physical duels. He defended quite patiently, but tried to get in front of his opponent when he saw the opportunity to. The 6’1” central defender looked very strong and put a lot of aggression in his duels. Knoester didn’t really get tested in aerial duels, but when he did he seemed to do fine.
Rating – B2
It’s hard to judge Knoester based on this game since ADO was so weak going forward. He looked very composed on the ball and didn’t get in danger defensively.