By Stefania Zajdel
On Friday, students left the comfort of the dorms to watch AUC’s Men&NB football team play against Leiden University College (LUC). Some went to support their classmates, some to meet up with their LUC friends, and some just wanted to get out of their rooms and experience something new. In the end, no matter the motivation, the goal was the same for all: to see some good football.
After a slight delay, brought on by a late appearance from the referee, the game began with a great first effort from AUC, which ended with the ball just barely missing the net. LUC, feeling the pressure, went on the offense and moved the game to our half of the field, making sure that the action stayed closer to our goal and forcing our players to focus on defending. That was how the game progressed until an unexpected break, which was brought on by a LUC player falling and hitting his head on the cold ground. The unfortunate injury led to a substitution.
The short break reinvigorated our players and resulted in the game moving away from our goal. The cheers of AUC students increased, just as our team saw another opportunity to score. Unfortunately, rather than change the standings, the subsequent ball only gave us a corner kick. On the flip side, the last minutes of the first half were played mostly by LUC’s goal as our team pressed them even harder than before. After another injury, this one less severe than the previous one, and a few more corner kicks, the referee ended the first half.
Most people spent the short break warming up after 45 minutes of standing in the November chill, including ‘the odd one out’ among the viewers – Tomas, a student from LUC who decided to travel to Amsterdam to support his friends. “I knew most people were going to be from AUC, but it only made me want to come here more,” he says, reflecting on the game, “The first half was nasty with some kicks, blows, and injuries. And still no goal! I’m hopeful for the second one.” He wasn’t the only one; with the score still standing at 0:0, AUC students were also eager to see a change.
Their wishes were answered right after the game resumed. Barely any time passed before an incident by LUC’s goal resulted in a penalty being awarded to AUC. After a great kick, Nico Banda opened the game and gave us the coveted lead. The team, invigorated by the great start, pushed again, only to be stopped by a temporary blackout. Thankfully, by the time the technical issue was resolved, the players didn’t lose their steam and kept pressing.
The second half of the game belonged to AUC and anyone who doubted it had to concede after Olli Leppanen scored a second, truly spectacular, goal. That is not to say that LUC gave up – quite the contrary. Their players countered our team’s attacks and would have scored some goals of their own, were it not for the efforts of our goalkeeper and defenders. In the end, all their attempts were not quite enough and the game finished with a score of 2:0 for AUC.
As the team celebrated, Tomas shared some thoughts about the game. “I could see that they [the team] were really trying, it just didn’t happen this time. It was a very nice game, I appreciate good football,” he says. Having already played for the LUC team, he hopes to get back on the field soon so, who knows, maybe next time we will see him on the field instead of the sidelines. Dimitra Klavdianou, a first-year Humanities student, also enjoyed coming out to see the game. “I was surprised that I liked it, I’m not usually a fan of football,” she says, “Turns out, it’s more fun if you watch it in person and know the players.”
An exciting match and a great result made for a fun evening for all those who came to watch and survived the unpleasantly cold wind. If you missed it and are looking for a chance to cheer on one of our teams without having to move more than a few minutes away from the dorms, AUC’s Women&NB football team will be playing against EUC (Erasmus University College Rotterdam) on 6 December at 20:00. Come to Zeeburgia and show your support!
The Herring 