Almere City debuts next season in premier league, Emmen relegated

Almere and the province of Flevoland get a club in the premier league for the first time in history. After the 2-0 victory in Almere, Almere City FC also won the return against FC Emmen in Drenthe in the final of the promotion/degradation playoffs: 1-2. With that, Almere City will be active at the highest level in the 2023/2024 season.

The match went according to Almere’s plan. In the first half, although Emmen had an abundance of ball possession, the home team created almost nothing with it. Five minutes before halftime, Emmen attacker Jeremy Antonisse came closest to scoring with a hard shot against the post.

Almere held on easily otherwise and struck mercilessly five minutes after halftime. After a long pass from substitute Thomas Poll, Anthony Limbombe crossed and Rajiv van La Parra shot Almere into the lead. A quick second goal followed two minutes later with a diagonal shot into the far corner by Jorrit Smeets and Emmen was broken.

The home team did come back into the game through Jari Vlak (rebound), but the belief in a real turnaround in two games was not on the faces of Emmen’s players. A schwalbe by Ole Romeny after a duel with Poll did not result in a late penalty after VAR intervention.

For Emmen, the return to the premier league lasted only one year. The club relegated back to the first division after one season. There the club will next season meet trainer Dick Lukkien, the new coach of FC Groningen.