WHC Wezep (Holland)

Wezep Hattemerbroek Combination, or WHC Wezep as they are most commonly known are an amateur football club from  from Wezep – Hattemerbroek in the Gelderland region of central Netherlands who were formed on the 1st October 1930, originally as Hattemerbroek Football Association (HVV).

 

HVV were soon successful, going on to be crowned champions of the North Central Football Association in 1938 and 1939. Unfortunately World War Two intervened, but when peace was restored a new club HVV Wezeper Boys took over the reigns. However the KNVB, the Dutch FA, refused to recognise the new set up and enforced them to merge with another local club; HVV Brandsma. From there WHC was born.

Placed in the fourth class of Dutch football, WHC reached the final of the competition in 1949, where they were defeated 2-1 by Amsterdam AMVJ. Undaunted WHC regrouped and won the championship the following season by beating Nunspeet in 't Harde in front of 5,000 fans at the final.

The 1960’s brought the glory days to Sportpark Muldersingel as five championships were won. An amazing crowd of 11,500 witnessed the completion of the blue and white’s seventh title in 1968 for the final against local rivals Go Ahead Kampen Zwolle. In 1970 another league title was chalked up on the clubs honours board.

The following season saw WHC win the Saturday Amateur Cup following a victory over Black White '28. Throughout the 70’s WHC played in the top tier of the amateur game, but the club narrowly avoided relegation in 1980 following a 5-0 win over SDCP, with 5,000 fans attending the clash in Nunspeet.

However, 1982 saw WHC relegated for the first time. Six years later victory over FC Meppel in the final of the Tweede Klasse saw WHC propelled back to the first Eerste Klasse. After another scrape with relegation, WHC went down once more in 1996, but they returned at the first attempt.

The turn of the millennium saw the club consolidate and then end with three third place finishes in the league. Following restructuring of the leagues in 2010/11 WHC failed to gain a place to the Topklasse.

 

Probably WHC’s greatest claim to fame came when they were drawn against Ajax in the KNVB Cup. The match on the 23^rd December 2009 was moved to the IJsseldelta Stadion home of neighbours PEC Zwolle and ended in a 14-1 win for the vistors in front of a sell out 10,500 crowd.

To see the action from the game, go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVMo1vXcTbQ

WHC Wezep will play in Zaterdag Hoofdklasse C (Saturday second division C) in the 2013-14 season.

My visit

WHC Wezep 1 AZSV 0 (Saturday 18^th January 2014) Zaterdag Hoofdklasse C (att: 300)

When I planned my long weekend around The Netherlands, one of the attraction was that the main Eredivisie games kicked off on the Saturday evening, offering me scope to delve into the non league amateur game for the first time. As my match of choice at night was PEC Zwolle against Vitesse and to meet up with my old pal Guy Watson, who was going to FC Utrecht v Feyenoord the following day, I wanted a nearby game. The excellent Soccerway website (http://uk.soccerway.com/) was to prove to be my friend once again.

After some trekking around Enschede and Hengelo, the train took me to Zwolle at lunchtime. A strategic error on my part led me to book the excellent but remote Mercure Hotel on the outskirts of the town. A decided to splash out on a taxi from the station, but the rapid rate of the metre was putting me off further extravagance.

Freshened up after a shower I planned to jump on the no.100 bus at the Oranje Nassaulaan stop. However, this required using the cycle paths going under the motorway and dual carriageway. I got lost and had to revert to the map app on my phone. Thankfully I’d taken up the offer from 3 phones of an unlimited twenty four hours internet pass for a fiver. I was soon on track but time was pressing on. I was never going to make the stop, so instead I had to jog and then run further down the route to Katerveerdijk.

I beat the bus by a minute. The locals saw a very out of breath and perspiring visitor jump onboard! Around ten minutes later I was jumping off at Willem de Zwijgerkazerne. From there it was a couple of minutes walk down Hoeloosweg to the entrance of Sportpark Muldersingel. I was encouraged that there were others doing the same.

I immediately got the vibes that WHC were a thriving club. At least two other games had finished on adjoining pitches and the women’s team were warming up before their match on the secondary pitch behind the goal of the main arena. I followed the crowds and found a temporary club shop. I was delighted to see that there was a match programme. I’m not sure how much I paid for it, as I let the friendly lady take some change from my hand, but she gave me four strips of raffle tickets as well.

Admission cost me $7. I was given a ticket at the booth that was then torn in half by the inspector a yard away! The entrance was in the corner of the ground just past what looked like a decent clubhouse. Once inside I liked what I saw. De Muldersingel was a typical non league venue.

By the entrance there was a food stall. Both ends had a little flat hard standing. The far side had seven steps of open terracing. The near side had similar open terracing but a raised roofed seated stand across the half way line to accommodate 500 fans. There was a basic scoreboard in the far corner, but the feature that impressed me were the raised double level of advertising boards above the open ends and terracing giving the ground a real enclosed feel and the impression that local businesses really supported their club.

I took up a position on the far terrace once I’d taken my photos to take in the action. Both sides went into the game in the bottom three in the league table, so I was expecting a tight clash. I wasn’t to be let down.

The visitors from Aalten began brightly without creating any real opportunities. The home centre back Tanju Sahin seemed to enjoy the theatrical side of the game. I quickly got the impression that he wasn’t quite as good as he thought he was. The match had moments of close skill and passing, but also plenty of long balls for good measure. WHC grew into the encounter and went ahead on twenty eight minutes when Bunyamin Özkök latched on to a pass inside the area to go round the visiting custodian Ruud Kempers and slot home from a tight angle.

Just like at being back at a game at home the away keeper took some stick from a group of home youths. Kempers looked quite young himself with a head of flaming red hair. I’m not sure what was repeatedly shouted at him each time he cleared the ball, but I don’t suppose it too complimentary. Soon after the goal, the WHC centre forward Ibrahim Tuncer, who was built like a young Peter Crouch missed a sitter and put the ball onto the women’s pitch over the fence.

Leading up to half time I saw fans leaving the terrace and coming back from the food bars eating something out of paper. This had to be investigated! It turned out to be a lightly battered fish that was then sprinkled with paprika pepper. It cost $2.20 and I have to say it was very good as far as football food goes.

As the half time whistle went it was time to wash my snack down with a beer. Bottles of Amstel were an extremely reasonable £1.75 a go. The TV’s were showing the teletext pages from the other games around the country, including the amateurs.

 

I decided to take up a seat in the stand for the second half, finding the day so much more relaxing after finding out that the Scarborough game at Bedworth had been postponed. Tuncer continued to have a nightmare up front before he was mercifully replaced, while Sahin looked to be the star while making his fair share of errors.

The action had reduced after the break, and turned into a battle of attrition. AZSV pushed forward trying to pierce the home defence, but they were holding firm and looking more likely to double their advantage. Özkök came close to claiming a brace with a decent chance. As the game entered its closing stages I stood by the exit as Tjeerd Korf and then Rossi Dati both missed guilt edged chances to seal the game.

I fully expected them to let it slip in the last minute. Judging from the reaction of their fans, I wasn't in a minority. However, they hung on to claim three vital points. I thought it only right to have another bottle while waiting for my bus. The bar was packed with happy fans who then turned their attention to the TVs showing the Holland v New Zealand hockey match.

My timing was perfect, having only to wait a minute or two for the bus to arrive and take me to Zwolle station and to meet up with Guy for the evening’s entertainment.

HVV Tubantia (Holland)

HVV Tubantia (Hengelose Voetbal Vereniging Tubantia) is an amateur football club who were formed on the 1^st October 1900 in the town of Hengelo in the north east of The Netherlands after initially being called Wilhelmina. The club moved to a ground at Bornsestraat, half way between Hengelo and Borne in 1905.

 

For several years the club developed and became an important social outlet to the people of the area. In the summer of 1955 the club merged with the professional outfit Twente, keeping the Tubantia name, but competing in professional football. A year later the club joined the second division of Dutch football, competing well and finishing fifth of Division A in the 1964-65 season. The 1966-67 campaign saw the team finished second bottom of the league and reverted to amateur status.

The club suffered from decline over the years in membership, although they could still boast nine junior sides at the lowest point in 1980-81. As a consequence the club made the decision to re-locate, opening a new base at Landmansweg in the north east of the town in 1983.

The move worked as membership gradually grew once again, with many youth teams taking the field in Tubantia colours. On Saturday 25^thJanuary 2014 a brand new clubhouse and stand was opened by the honorary president; Peter Leferink.

HVV Tubantia will play in Tweede Klasse Zontag Oost (Second Class Sunday – East) in the 2013-14 season.

My visit

Saturday 18^th January 2014

My final visit to a club in the Twente region came following a walk from ACT ’65 along and under the A1 motorway. I thought that I’d worked out a short cut, but the route around the rear of the cemetery was fenced off. Instead it added a few hundred metres to my journey.

Signs at the corner of Sportpark De Bijenkorf displayed plans and images of the new development being completed at the venue. The entrance was found along Verlengde Polluxweg, with the car park leading to the changing rooms.

There were definite signs of work as much of the surface was mud, some where grass was meant to be. The new structure looked as though it would mean the main pitch moving in time. There certainly was one at the front of the building, though the works had rendered them unusable.

I went to take photos of the current main pitch. It was surrounded by hedges and trees on three sides, with the pitch having hard standing around it. A few benches were located along the road side of the ground, with changing rooms behind the near goal.

With my task complete I headed to the Klein Driene bus stop and took the no11 bus back into the town centre, where I got out and had a walk around the market to buy a European plug adaptor and to collect my bag from the excellent Hampshire City Hotel before taking the train to Zwolle for my entertainment for the rest of the day.

vv ATC '65 (Holland)

vv ATC '65 is an amateur football club based in the north of the town of Hengelo in the north east of The Netherlands, who were formed in 1965. The ATC in the club name is from the Latin ‘A Triginta Conditum’ which when translated means ‘from thirty arise’. As the club was formed by thirty members, the name seemed fitting.

The club started out on pitches by Stadium Veldwijk, which in time would become the training centre for FC Twente with Cees Krijnsen as club president. In 1973 ATC moved to Great Driene to deal with their expanding club.

In 1995 the future FC Twente owner Joop Munsterman became president. The ambitions of ATC grew as several sides represented the club as well as the formation of a women’s team and a basketball side. ATC moved to Sportpark Slangenbeek in Hengelo Torenlaan.

ATC progressed to Erste Klasse, which is the third highest amateur grade in the country as a fine new stand was erected at the ground. However the club was relegated at the end of the 2008-09 campaign.

vv ATC '65 will play in the Tweede Klasse Zontag Oost (Second Class Sunday – East) in the 2013-14 season.

My visit

Saturday 18^th January 2014

I had stayed overnight in the centre of Hengelo on the previous evening to attend the local derby between FC Twente and Heracles. Being in the area and having spare time I also wanted to see what the clubs lower down the pecking order had to offer, so after visiting three amateur clubs in nearby Enschede, I found myself boarding the no.11 bus from Hengelo station to Roershoek bus stop.

The area was at the far side of the A1 motorway and relatively newly built. My pre printed map did me massive favours as I cut through lots of neat residential streets and then around a lake to bring me out by the entrance to Sportpark Slangenbeek.

There were several football pitches, including a couple with artificial surfaces. Twente Hockey Club stood next door with three all weather pitches of their own. It really was a sporting paradise. Plenty of the clubs youngsters were getting invaluable training, while a match was going on one of the ‘out’ pitches.

The main pitch was synonymous with so many that I came across on my brief visit. It had an excellent main seated stand. ACT’s was slightly bigger than most. The rest of the ground had hard standing and then grass surrounding it in parts. Advertising boards gave the venue an enclosed feel as they were raised above the hard standing. An impressive two storey clubhouse was stood back behind the entrance end goal.

Yet another ground and general set up had impressed me. I walked towards my next port of call along Torenlaan, only to discover that that the two football pitches nearest the road had an artificial cricket wicket between them, with the fine pavilion of Hengelo Cricket Club in the far corner.

VOSTA (Holland)

VOSTA or Vooruit Omhoog Sportief Trots Alles is an amateur football club based in north Enschede in the north east of The Netherlands. The club were formed on the 15^th September 1926 by Mr A Moss at cafe Oostburg.

In 1931 VOSTA began playing at a ground on Steenweg, before moving to Sportpark Schreurserve at Minkmaatstraat four years later. The first clubhouse was opened in 1962 when the team found themselves playing Erste (first) Klasse football, when that was the highest grade of the amateur game.

 

On the 15^th March 1980 VOSTA opened a brand new clubhouse, but by then the first team had slipped down the divisions.

VOSTA will play in the Vierde Klasse Zontag Oost (Fourth Class Sunday – East) in the 2013-14 season.

My visit

Saturday 18^th January 2014

To be perfectly honest I had never heard of VOSTA until I came across their neat venue when visiting cvv Sparta Enschede who occupied the rest of Sportpark Schreurserve. When taking photos of their venue I saw another ground with separate facilities, so naturally I went to take a look.

VOSTA’s headquarters were suited to a higher grade of football. A decent seated stand was on the same side as the clubhouse and changing rooms. The grass pitch had a rail and hard standing all the way around it as well as turf beyond. At the Minkmaatstraat end a sand volleyball court was set out. In front of the clubhouse was a concourse with chairs and tables with a fenced playground in front.

The football enthusiast certainly had the best of both worlds with two impressive football clubs, playing on different days of the weekend to hold their attention.

My luck was definitely in. I had previously considered a bus ride up to Oldenzaal to visit Be Quick, but time was extremely tight. I stumbled across the Hyacintstraat bus stop virtually outside the ground and within minutes the no.6 was taking me back to Enschede station in time to catch a waiting train back to Hengelo.