Text and image Desney Romeo
In less than a week after the Presidents Cup meeting between Suriname Major League champion Broki and cup champion Voorsprong, both teams faced each other again, this time in their first appearance in the new SML competition. The first half was characterized by Broki, who put a lot of pressure on to make it difficult for Voorvoord. That worked quite well in the beginning. On the other hand, Broki was unable to convert possession into action, as goalkeeper Endro Esperansie did not have to take action once in the first 45 minutes.
Vooruit, on the other hand, did have opportunities to open the score. In the 36th minute, goalkeeper Felipe Viotti even had to take action twice to prevent Dechamar Hunte and Jual Pengel from opening the score for the yellow-black team. It was striking that neither goalkeeper had to take action in the first half hour.
“We knew that they would want to do everything they could to correct what went wrong.”
However, a Voorvoord goal hung in the air in the final phase. After a corner kick from Pengel, Viotti made a save on the goal line after a header from a Forward attacker. In injury time, Dechamar Hunte would break the ice. He was played well, went alone to Viotti and passed him with control.
Shortly after the goal, referee Kevar Pinas blew the whistle for halftime. Shortly after halftime, Hunte had another opportunity to score, but he shot the ball into the hands of Viotti. A free kick awarded to Broki in the 53rd minute was taken by Alan da Costa, who had come on after the break. One of Broki’s smallest attackers, Arian dos Santos, then headed the ball behind Esperansie: 1-1.
In the 63rd minute, Pengel had the opportunity to score 2-1, after Shanairo Kwasie had beautifully played the ball back to him. However, Pengel shot high. On the other hand, Shaquille Cairo also had a good chance, but he reacted slowly, allowing Voorsprong’s defense to clear up. Neither team would score again after that, so the match ended in a draw.
After the match, the newspaper reported to coach Werner Blackson that Broki had more ball possession, but that the best chances were for Forward. He indicated that he was not satisfied. He also stated that the fact that Broki had a lot of ball possession was a conscious choice on his part.
“Players who are not interested will no longer get a job with me”
Sergio Rodríguez
“We knew they would do anything to put right what went wrong,” Blackson said, referring to Broki’s 1-0 defeat in the Presidents Cup match. “The intention was to give them space and make use of the space at their back. We succeeded in that quite a few times. Only we did not convert it into goals, and then the match remained exciting. If you go back to their goal, we created too much space with the free kick. This allowed them to score from that situation.”
“It is also something we have trained for, because in our first match they also got a lot of free kicks. We were aware of it, but ultimately it is a moment in the match when things go wrong.” When asked about the objectives of Voorkomst, Blackson said: “The competition system is such that we complete two rounds and then play a final round, where the points from the general rounds count. It is therefore important for us to collect as many points as possible and certainly finish in the top six. From that point we have to start aiming for a prize again. We have been able to win the cup and the Presidents Cup, but we have not yet won the SML. So that is the focus this year.”
Coach at Broki, Sergio Rodriguez has made a number of changes. Six players have been replaced. “Players who don’t feel like it no longer come into play for me. Despite the five changes, it is noticeable that we have quality. The fact that we conceded a goal just before half time does not detract from what we achieved tonight. Rodriguez believes that Broki played a good match. According to him, playing against Voorvoor is not easy. It is a team that has been working with the same coach for at least four to five years and also has a fixed playing style.
“I admit that we did not show our best side during the Caribbean Cup and also in the match for the Presidents Cup. But I know the SML competition well. I have already won this competition once and also finished in second place once. Broki is not dead. Broki must be respected. We are the current champions of the SML and we will also show that during this competition.”
