The emotion could have subsided a bit when Alexander Büttner and Joseph Oosting looked back on Friday evening’s game after the defeat against FC Twente in the mixed zone. But the frustration and anger was still clearly present in both the player and the coach.
“It just shouldn’t happen. You can never give away a goal in that last minute,” Büttner grumbled in the mixed zone of the Mandemakers Stadium. The left back had to admit that it was thanks to FC Twente that RKC could still hope for a point in injury time. “They had a lot of opportunities. But you fight yourself back in the game. If you make the 1-1, you can’t give it away like that.”
That goal has nothing to do with luck. It shouldn’t happen, it’s just bad. Really, it’s just bad,” continued Buttner, who then adds the experience from his time at Manchester United. “He is not allowed to headline. But it’s about the ball for that, you just have to shoot it out of the stadium. When you play football in England, they shoot a ball like that at someone behind the house. We must learn that. You have to know that in the ninetieth minute with 1-1 it should not be solved in football.”
Trainer Oosting tells his story a few minutes later. In the background, the ‘take a step forward and a step back’ sounds through the speakers. RKC could have taken a step forward if you look at the rankings, but took a step back in confidence due to that late goal.
“We know that we have to fight for every point and every victory as an RKC. Last week and now, you are doing yourself a disservice. It is a repetition of moves. At such a moment I can be a bit shorter of substance” , says Oosting about the first minutes after the match in the dressing room.
The coach was very satisfied with the start of his team. RKC had a few chances. Out of nowhere it became 0-1 for FC Twente and then the Waalwijkers lost it completely. “I cannot explain how we suddenly become very restless, without taking the initiative. It was very nice at times, but we completely lost that. It’s hard to put your finger on that. And it is true that it is frustrating.”
Oosting saw the uncertainty increase within the team. “That’s what pisses me off the most. FC Twente really lets us live. But we fought. And then I think you should cherish such a point. You have to do everything for that, everything has to give way.”
That did not happen, resulting in a goal in injury time. And that’s how carnival started for the players and fans of RKC with a hangover. The special carnival shirt will therefore not be hung on the wall in Büttner’s house, but the defeat is not the only reason for that. “I don’t think we can even take them with us. I played against nice opponents, I do have a number of shirts. But I have to tell you honestly: this shirt is not ‘mother’s most beautiful’. But I heard it is a tradition, so what it matters, it’s just a shame we didn’t get a point.”
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