KZ beat LDODK 28‑25 after leading 24‑18

Both teams started with the same eight players as a week earlier. A week earlier, KZ lost their season opener against PKC; LDODK started with a win against DeetosSnel.

"I think we need to have more defensive control over their key players", Star said beforehand. He was counting on Carlo de Vries and Alwin Out: "I expect to have a fired-up Carlo and certainly a fanatical Alwin on the court."

LDODK coach Jan Niebeek said he was mainly focused on his own team. "I think we threw away something like fifteen balls. And that's too many for today", he said about the match a week earlier.

Read more: LDODK has its hands full with promoted DeetosSnel: 24‑21

Before the start, Sabine Verhoef, Harjan Visscher, Ran Faber and Alwin Out received flowers for the European title they won a few weeks earlier.

KZ start 4‑1

Carlo de Vries opened the scoring with a run-in from an assist by Isa Dik. In the 7th minute it was 4‑1, after two goals from Anouk Haars and a long shot from Dik.

LDODK came back with goals from Marlou Kuiper, Rixt Bouma and Faber: 4‑4 in the 10th minute. It was the last time the scores were level in the match.

Esther Cordus made it 6‑4 with a run-in and a penalty. Mikai van het Kaar made it 7‑5 and Out put KZ two ahead again with his first goal: 9‑7. LDODK kept pace and came back from 10‑7 to 10‑9 through Jurjen Veenstra and Josse Scheenstra.

LDODK time-out at 13‑9

With three goals in a row, the last a run-in from Dik, KZ pulled away to 13‑9 in the 20th minute. Niebeek then took the first time-out of the match.

KZ extended the lead to 15‑10, after which LDODK brought Tieme Eppinga onto the court. Veenstra made it 15‑11, but went off before half-time.

LDODK also scored the last goal of the first half. At half-time it was 15‑12.

Four in a row after 20‑18

Faber scored straight after the break: 15‑13. De Vries replied with 16‑13 and, from a free pass, 17‑13.

Midway through the second half, Niebeek took Verhoef off for a few minutes and brought on Marrit van der Laan. When Verhoef returned, Star brought on substitute Rona Boer to defend her, at the expense of Haars. A few minutes later Haars was back on the court.

In between, Zoë Engel scored her only goal of the match: 20‑16. Through penalties from Kuiper, Eppinga and Verhoef and a long shot from Kuiper, LDODK came back to 20‑18 in the 40th minute.

KZ then pulled away with four goals in a row. Out shot 21‑18, Haars and Dik scored from distance and Dik converted a penalty: 24‑18 in the 44th minute, the biggest margin of the match.

LDODK come back to 27‑25

LDODK brought Veenstra back onto the court after 24‑18, and he scored three more goals in the final stage. Star brought in Jelle Ekkes to defend him. With seven goals, Veenstra was the top scorer of the match.

Cordus made it 25‑20 with a run-in, but LDODK kept scoring. In the 49th minute Eppinga cut the gap to two with a run-in: 27‑25. Star took a time-out with one minute left on the clock.

Marijn van den Goorbergh then decided the match with a penalty: 28‑25.

Eight penalties for KZ

KZ converted eight penalties in total. "Every time we had just closed the gap, you concede another penalty or an easy goal", said Niebeek.

Captain Faber also pointed to his team's own finishing. "We actually shot too early", he said. According to him, LDODK conceded many run-ins, penalties and free passes in the first half, the opposite of the plan. According to Faber, LDODK had only one real training session this week, due to the short time between the matches on Sunday and Friday.

Haars, joint top scorer for KZ with six goals, was voted player of the match. "It was a harder fight than we had hoped", she said.

Star said he was proud of his team. He did feel that KZ made it too close in the final stage.

What's next

KZ play TOP next week, LDODK play PKC. The previous meeting between the teams, in March, was won 28‑21 by LDODK at home.