Cambuur closes premiership with big win over RKC Waalwijk, Uldrikis off the mark

Cambuur celebrates one of four goals in the game with RKC Waalwijk.

NOS Football–today, 16:50

SC Cambuur bid farewell to the premier league in style. On the last matchday, the Leeuwardeners, who have been certain of relegation for weeks, recorded the biggest win of the season. Against RKC Waalwijk, which itself was still fighting for a place in the playoffs for European soccer, it was no less than 4-0.

With that win, Cambuur even surrendered the last place in the Eredivisie to FC Groningen. And it was also a special match for striker Roberts Uldrikis: he finally scored his first goal of the season.

The final standings of the 2022/23 premier league

The already relegated Cambuur bid farewell to the premier league against RKC, but could still trouble its neighbor in Heerenveen quite a bit. Because ironically, a wide defeat against RKC could prevent Heerenveen from being allowed to play the playoffs for European soccer.

Striker Roberts Uldrikis, however, thought otherwise. The tall Latvian, captain at the beginning of the season, was still looking for his first goal of the season.

After ten minutes it finally seemed to come, when a cross from David Sambissa was headed against the underside of his own crossbar by RKC defender Lelieveld and then disappeared into the goal via Uldrikis’ body. But again Uldrikis was not helped: VAR determined that the ball went over the line via his arm.

Cambuur players celebrate Uldrikis’ goal exuberantly, but later learn that it was disallowed by VAR order.

Ten minutes later, Uldrikis did almost everything right: he cleverly cut inside and looked for the short corner, but the ball lacked momentum and also rolled just wide.

Clement injury

The first big chance for RKC was not long in coming either. After two quick passes, RKC suddenly found themselves with an overtal on Cambuur’s half, but Pelle Clement waited too long and so his pass to Michiel Kramer could be intercepted.

For the same Clement – one of the many RKC players who will make a transfer after the season, in his case to Sparta – the season was over not much later, as the midfielder had to be sidelined with a muscle injury.

That turned out to be perhaps a harbinger of a lousy end to a particularly good season for the team of farewell coach Joseph Oosting.

Roberts Uldrikis slides in Cambuur’s 1-0, his first goal of the season.

Uldrikis’ moment came in injury time of the first half. The Latvian slid in a cross from Alex Bangura beautifully, brushing the hateful zero off his season record after all.

And immediately afterwards, in the eighth added minute of the first half, Sambissa also made it 2-0. After halftime, RKC hardly offered any resistance and Cambuur could have made the score even bigger. In the end, only Navarone Foor and Milan Smit managed to find the net.