After a poor start in the league, Go Ahead Eagles got three important points away against MVV Maastricht. The visitors had a strong first half in which they had multiple big chances. After 35 minutes Go Ahead were already leading by two goals after Idzes and Beukema both scored headers. In the second half Go Ahead Eagles seemed to play with a lower intensity as they gave MVV the initiative. The hosts were really poor going forward however and barely created any good goal scoring opportunities.
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
Sam Beukema
Player profile:
- Nationality: Dutch
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 17/11/1998
- Current club: Go Ahead Eagles
- Career: Go Ahead Eagles
- Position: Centre Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Sam Beukema played as the right sided centre back in Go Ahead’s four man defense and put in an outstanding performance for his team. The 21-year old is a real presence in the air standing at 6’2”. Beukema is physically very strong and approaches his duels with a lot of aggression and intensity. He tended to defend quite patiently and only put a tackle in at the exact right moment. This resulted in him winning all of his twelve defensive duels this game. He stayed in position very well, sometimes stepping out of the defensive line when he knew he had the opportunity to. During the game Beukema was constantly talking to his teammates and communicating very well and it isn’t surprising that he is the captain when centre back Veldmate can’t play.
In the third minute Beukema made his only real error of the game. After an MVV attacker beat his man and ran into the box Beukema was a just too late with his challenge and committed a foul in the area. Luckily for him the referee didn’t think it was a foul and there was no VAR for this game. The rest of the game Beukema was absolutely fantastic and he was rewarded with a goal in the 35th minute, where he once again showed how good he is in the air. From a corner Beukema headed the ball in at the near post to make it 2-0.
On the ball Beukema was very calm. He often got the ball in build-up and mostly looked for a forward pass. His shorter passes were very good, but his long balls were a little too inconsistent. Beukema mostly played it quite safe and never really dribbled into the midfield.
Rating: A1
Based on this game I really think Beukema would be a fine played for the smaller Eredivisie side. Defensively he was very strong against MVV and his technique also seemed good.
Frank Ross
Player profile:
- Nationality: Scottish
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 18/02/1998
- Current club: Go Ahead Eagles
- Career: Aberdeen, Greenock Morton FC (L), Ayr United FC (L), Go Ahead Eagles
- Position: Left Winger
- Secondary Position: Attacking Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Frank Ross made his first start for Go Ahead Eagles after coming on as a substitute for two games. Ross played as the left winger in Go Ahead’s 4-3-3 and had quite a mixed performance. He worked very hard and always tracked back very well helping out defensively. Especially in the first 20 minutes, however Ross was not involved in the game enough. Later in the match he seemed more confident and showed he can be a great player for the Eagles.
Frank Ross was a real nuisance for MVV, constantly roaming from his position. He often made space for left back Bas Kuipers by sitting quite narrow or dropping back to collect the ball. When Kuipers then got the ball Ross always tried to make smart runs to be able to receive the ball from him. Ross’ runs often caused confusion in MVV’s defense which created some space on the left. When Ross had the ball in the final third he always looked dangerous. Standing at 5’8” with quite an average build he is not the most physical player, but he still did well in his offensive 1v1’s. He is right footed, but was never easy to predict. He often went for stepovers, still dribbling with quite some speed, and tried to beat his opponent going for a cross with his left foot instead of cutting inside onto his favoured right foot. His left footed crosses lacked some quality however. Ross only created one chance by cutting inside, after he played a good pass to van Hoeven, who then played a poor ball back into the middle.
Rating: B1
Frank Ross can be a great player in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie. He has great technique, but just didn’t create enough in the final third since he played a little too safe in this game.
Jay Idzes
Player profile:
- Nationality: Dutch
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 02/06/2000
- Current club:
- Career: PSV (Y), VVV (Y), FC Eindhoven, Go Ahead Eagles
- Position: Defensive Midfield
- Secondary Position: Centre Back, Left Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Jay Idzes scored his first goal in professional football against MVV Maastricht. In the 27th minute left back Bas Kuipers put in a great cross and Idzes did very well to head the ball in. The defensive midfielder had a decent game against MVV, but showed several areas where he could improve. Idzes is a tall player with quite a slim build and he needs to make some steps physically. He isn’t very strong and looked quite slow over the first few meters.
On the ball he showed some promise, but also made plenty of mistakes. He struggled at times with his technique in small spaces and looked a little clumsy on occasion. His passing was sloppy too many times, but he almost always tried to play the ball forward and had great awareness of what was happening around him. Idzes was quite calm on the ball and wasn’t afraid to take on an opponent. Defensively there is also some work to do. He positioned himself quite well and was communicating well with his teammates, but his physicality let him down a little. He wasn’t very aggressive in his duels and was beaten quite easily by his opponents.
Rating: B2
Idzes can become a good player in his league, but I’m not too convinced he can make the step up to the Eredivisie overthe next few years.
Julliani Eersteling
Player profile:
- Nationality: Dutch
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 27/10/2001
- Current club: Go Ahead Eagles
- Career: Sparta Rotterdam (Y), Go Ahead Eagles
- Position: Right Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Julliani Eersteling normally plays for Go Ahead’s under 21 side, but had to step in for their first team over the last few games. Eersteling played as right back and had an okay game, but nothing more than that really. Where left back Bas Kuipers often got forward and put in a couple of good crosses it was quite clear that Eersteling was instructed to not go forward, since he barely crossed the halfway line. Eersteling put in one cross throughout the game, which looked like it was overhit, but still was dangerous as Hendriks got a big chance from it.
On the ball Eersteling looked quite insecure. He was quite static, barely dribbled and mostly just played passes back to Beukema or to one of the midfielders who came to pick up the ball. He played a couple of long passes, but these lacked quality. Defensively Eersteling was quite smart, winning most of his duels. It was clear however, that he lacks strength as he got pushed away very easily at times. Eersteling has a slim build and is quite tall.
Rating: C
Eersteling looked very average this match. It looked like he was instructed to take as few risks as possible, since he mostly played very simple passes back to his goalkeeper or centre back.
Bradly van Hoeven
Player profile:
- Nationality: Dutch
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 17/04/2000
- Current club: Go Ahead Eagles (On loan from Sparta Rotterdam)
- Career: Sparta Rotterdam (Y), Go Ahead Eagles (L)
- Position: Right Wing
- Secondary Position: Left Wing
- Preferred foot: Left
Bradly van Hoeven played on the right wing in Go Ahead Eagles’ 4-3-3 formation and had a a very poor game. He tried to take on his opponent multiple times, but was just way too predictable. Van Hoeven would always try to cut inside towards his favored left foot, but hardly ever succeeded. He was very sloppy with his dribbling and passing and the quality of his end product was just very poor. There were multiple dangerous counter attacks, where van Hoeven made the wrong decision or gave away the ball needlessly.
In the second half van Hoeven scored a goal after a good run through the middle, but it didn’t count since he was just offside. He looked quite fast, but never tried to beat his opponent for pace this game. The winger worked very hard throughout this game trying to receive the ball and not forgetting his defensive duties either.
Rating: D
Van Hoeven made a lot of mistakes in this game and his performance was very poor.