Text and image Desney Romeo
PARAMARIBO — “If you have won, you cannot be dissatisfied. People say ‘all’s well that ends well’, but it could be much better.” Words from trainer Henry Kia, after Leo Victor triumphed 2-1 over Flora in the Suriname Major League on Wednesday evening.
The missed opportunities did not sit well with Kia. “It’s a shame. The boys have to become cool-headed. We will have to keep working on that, because the finishing is not yet what it should be. There were plenty of opportunities in the last twenty minutes.”
“There is a golden rule in football: if you don’t score, you concede the goals. If we had scored that goal, the match would have been different”
Flora trainer Rodney Oldenstam
The match got off to a flying start. Immediately after kick-off, Denzel Etnel passed Leo Victor’s Cerezo Haabo and passed it back to Jerome Tolud. He played devastatingly, with the ball hitting the intersection of the post. Leo Victor’s counterattack was immediate. Roy Rome, the Lions’ assist specialist, launched the ball accurately at the head of Rovanio Aloeboetoe, who headed in: 1-0 Leo Victor.
Kia honestly admits that he did not expect such an early goal. “But we had agreed to try to score as quickly as possible, because it is always difficult to play against Flora due to the bond that both clubs have. We therefore expected formidable opposition.”
Golden rule
The fact that Flora did not strike first and was immediately presented with the bill in the counterattack was almost inevitable, coach Rodney Oldenstam responded. “There is a golden rule in football: if you don’t score, you concede the goals. If we had scored that goal, the match would have been different,” believes the Flora coach. “Leo Victor then took over the match.”
Rome had the chance to make Leo Victor 2-0, but face to face with Flora goalkeeper Sergey Klassie he failed to score. In the 37th minute it became 1-1 when the tall Shafiek Wassenaar headed in a corner kick from Roxy Fer before Leo Victor goalkeeper Demelcio Fer could respond.
In the 41st minute, Klassie kept a Rome effort out of the Flora goal with a diving header. Three minutes later, Fer had to do everything he could to prevent the ball from ending up in the Leo Victor goal via one of his defenders. The final achievement in the first half came from Gillaume Strooker, who fired a free kick just over.
Second act
The first good chance after the break was for Flora. Substitute Laqwyn Brondenstein came up well from the right flank and pulled the ball forward, but his fellow attackers had not followed suit. On the other hand, Rome was a constant thorn in the side of Flora’s defense, but was not very accurate in shooting and missed several opportunities. On the other hand, Kwasie was very alert under the crossbar.
Yet the Flora goalkeeper would succumb when no one expected it. Glerby Eduards came out of nowhere in the 83rd minute from outside the penalty area and scored the second goal for the Lions. In the ninetieth minute, Flora had the chance to make it 2-2. The ball came to Jezairo Renfrum from a corner kick, but he shot into the defense from close range.
Oldenstam thought that Flora – following instructions – played a fairly good second half. “Unfortunately we did not reward ourselves and a poor moment from the goalkeeper cost us these points.”
After three matches, the trainer dares to say that he sees an upward trend. “Just a little more fine-tuning, then we should arrive at our right eleven.” About Flora’s goal for this season, he said: “We are aiming for the best, of course. To get into the top six we will have to work for it and we will succeed if we try hard.”
