The reigning national champ Hurry-Up met Aalsmeer on Saturday, but he was a dad for almost the entire game. The Zwartemeerders played fresh off the liver and showed with their handsome 25-26 win that they were all set for the cup final on promotion day against Volendam in Almere. There, the team of the departed coach Jupp Veig will be cheered by several hundred fans, because about half of the Zwartemeer have booked a bus trip to loudly support their champions against the Volendam team.

Hurry-Up could win a big jackpot for the second time in history on Thursday. Zwartemeerders actually won the cup in 2011 in the final against E & O, also in Almere. It’s the last chance for a prize this season for Drenten, because they’ve already been eliminated in the final battle for the Dutch title. Hurry-Up is fourth in the Handbal.NL-League with 11 points, which means that with one round remaining, the Dutch championship finals are out of reach.

Alsmeer’s status in the final matches for the title became uncertain

Lions of Sittard were already positioned for that final battle. For a long time, Limburger’s side appeared to be facing the second-placed Aalsmeer in a best-of-three final. But this was made quite uncertain by North Holland’s defeat against Hurry-Up. Aalsmeer (14 points) is followed by third-placed Volendam with 13 points. Volendam fought internally against the league-leading Lions from a huge deficit and won 32-29.

Aalsmeer cannot lose the last match against the Lions, because Volendam, who will face the weak Tachos, will play the final matches for the title. There was a lot on the line in Saturday night’s Alesmere vs Hurry-Up game. But Drentin took the lead almost from the start and dominated the match. Coach Joop Fiege changes frequently. He wanted to give all his players playing time in view of the cup final. Due to the many changes, Hurry-Up did not play less for a moment, but sought openly and freely to attack.

Hurry-Up guards each turn into stars

The Zwartemeerders can count on excellent saves from goalkeeper Boris Tutt before the break and teammate David Ferreira in the second half. Both have grown to excel. Croatian Tutt, who signed with Hurry-Up, immediately set the tone in the first half by negating several penalties shot at him. This is much to the frustration of the Aalsmeer players, who don’t seem to be playing with much confidence anyway.

All of which led to a comfortable 10-15 lead for the guests from Zwartemeer at half time. Led by their top scorer Rob Jansen, who scored a total of seven times, the Aalsmeer side battled their way back into the game. With a somewhat unstable Hurry-Up period, this ensures that the home team will reach the same level fifteen minutes from time at 20-20.

But Hurry-Up keep calm. After goalkeeper Ferreira, who is leaving for the Bundesliga after this season, blocked a penalty kick by former international Geoffrey Boomhauer with his foot, Zwartmerders went back to a 20-24 lead again. Alsameer who knew he shouldn’t lose because of the title chances, still didn’t give up. The North Holland team scored three times in a row and cut the deficit to 23-24.

Hurry-Up can have a party after an exciting final stage

Trailing 24-25 and 24-26, Boomhouwer used an absolute final stage penalty after a foul on former Hurry-Up player Vaidas Trainavicius. Aalsmeer tried for the last thirty seconds to disrupt Hurry-Up’s final attack using only a man defense. This worked, but the remaining seven seconds on the clock were too short for the home team to tie. The match ended with 25-26 and the players in a hurry can celebrate their party.