Marcel van der Sloot's second half double helped TOP Oss pile on for a 4-0 victory at Omniworld that stretched their win streak to four games.
American Charles Kazlauskas had a solid game – he was steady and consistent on defense, while using bursts of speed to assist his attacking teammates by carrying the ball up the right wing.
The visitors got off to a slow start, with sloppy midfield passing and their short forays up the flanks being quickly squashed by the men in purple.
With the fans in full voice, the home side looked ready to play in the opening few minutes.
The first real action for TOP didn't come until the ninth minute when a quickly taken free kick in the center circle was sent forward for an awaiting Davy Zafarin, who didn't quite have the wheels to reach it.
Omniworld retaliated with a chance of their own when a Stefan Huisman free kick was headed off the line by midfielder Marko Kolsi.
The visiting Ossenaruh finally put together a string of passes in midfield; however, the outlet pass for forward Reginald Faria was sloppy and pounced on by opposing goalkeeper Beau Molenaar.
Kazlauskas did his part to inspire his team over the next seven minutes.
First, he showed his tenacity going one-on-one with forward Léon Ramos and coming out the winner.
Although a teammate misread his pass and his efforts were spoiled, he then took on Sjoerd Ars to break up an Omniworld rush.
Finally, in a culmination of some outstanding effort, he injected energy into the lifeless Oss side with a 19th minute shouting match.
The Wisconsin boy got face-to-face with defender Tomi Nyman after the Finn made a clumsy tackle and apparently landed on Kazlauskas' thigh.
Both teams gathered near the incident, exchanging words and shoves.
"I saw we weren't very aggressive," Kazlauskas told YA after the game. "We didn't start sharp and they had the advantage."
"Sometimes it takes one or two players to throw their body in and try to get the guys pumped up – that's what I tried to do."
The ensuing Marcel van der Sloot free kick, however, was too far for both Dirk Schoofs and Niek Ripson.
The American's tactics apparently worked because TOP made a complete turnaround from their starting performance almost immediately.
On 25 minutes, the visitors had some nice work in midfield to put together a string of passes before Faria was caught a hair offside.
However, the Amsterdammer was onside a minute later to receive a long ball and get past the defense.
A short back and forth with fellow front man Martijn van Galen was all the veteran needed to find the space to slot it home.
Oss nearly doubled their lead shortly thereafter when a long free kick found Ripson's head, but the opposing goal keeper made a terrific reflex save to tip over.
Omniworld tried to take control over the next few minutes, but a sloppy back pass nearly ended in disaster for them; Faria would have been in all alone, but was unable to reach it.
Near the break, the fog started to roll in to compliment the bitter cold, making it nearly impossible to see.
Even the glow of the orange ball that was brought out did little to help visibility.
The fog didn't seem to affect the home side, though, as Biko Brazil found himself unmarked on the end of a Ramos pass, nearly capitalizing on a rare Oss defensive lapse when his shot went just wide.
Omniworld continued to pressure, forcing TOP goalkeeper Wilko de Vogt to make a diving save on a quick Juan Viedma shot a minute later.
The home side got a last-ditch effort in during extra time, but the shot hit the side netting and they settled for being down 1-0 going into the break.
The fog lifted just in time for the halftime show – several hundred of the 1,383 attending fans singing, dancing and drinking coffee to cheesy Dutch pop music.
The second half started as sluggish as the first, although this time it didn't take as long for the guys on the field to warm their boots.
On 50 minutes, Ramos sent a long floater into the area for a wide-open Brazil, who inexplicably headed the ball in the wrong direction.
The game's first and only yellow card was dealt shortly thereafter to Kolsi for a harsh tackle on Huisman; the ensuing free kick resulted in nothing.
Kazlauskas put together another couple of good defensive plays, beginning in the 52nd minute when he out-muscled a rushing Ramos on the flank and earned a foul.
Two minutes later, the American fought with defender Dennis Hollart for possession near his own end line, but the ball took a funny bounce for a corner kick.
Brazil sent his cross much too far to the other side, and received a round of sarcastic cheers from the frigid crowd for his efforts.
On 57 minutes, Omniworld defender Viedma found himself on the end of an errant pass, but he rolled it straight to the waiting keeper.
The visiting fans were eerily quiet as Oss worked diligently to keep the opposing attacks from getting deep into the area, even though the home side was controlling most of the possession.
The home fans, on the other hand, were slowly losing patience with their team and met each pass with more sarcasm.
Finally, the tense atmosphere was disrupted when Faria and Van der Sloot teamed up to make it 2-0.
Van der Sloot sent the ball up the right for his teammate, who knocked a floater over the keeper and into the back of the net.
The number 10 was the architect of the visitors' third goal as well, disposing of two defenders before giving them the 3-0 lead two minutes later to send the small group of loyal fans who made the journey to Almere into a frenzy.
In the 73rd minute, youngster Ars sent a low drive towards the Oss keeper, who read the play well and easily made the save.
Kazlauskas, however, countered by bringing the ball the length of the field, beating his man on defense, and then passing to nobody - the American was clearly frustrated with his effort.
Van der Sloot sealed the result in the 82nd minute, nicking his second goal of the game on a pinball-esque attempt that made it over the line.
The home fans, frustrated with the scoreline, began the mass exodus of Sportpark FBK.
Oss didn't stop attacking, even in the waning moments of the game, and nearly notched another when a charging Molenaar saved what looked to be the fifth.
Omniworld's best chance came in stoppage time when a wide-open Kofi Mensah sent an absolute gift right over the net.
"The most important thing is to win the game and grab three points, and that's what we did," Kazlauskas said. "We're tied with three teams with 43 points in the competition, so it's important to get three points and keep in touch with the teams above you."
"We did our jobs tonight and we scored four goals and that's good for the self confidence."
TOP Oss return home to face AGOVV next Friday. |
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