The first blow is worth a dollar: Sylvio Hage beats Ruben de Jager in warm-up for Zeeland Classic

Hoek and Kloetinge are both in the middle of the Third Division. As a result, there is little at stake when you look at the competition, but because the first match this season ended in a 1-1 draw, it is still undecided who the best team in Zeeland is. “These are games that you went to football for.”

Hage and De Jager are especially looking forward to the atmosphere surrounding the match. “I heard that between 2,500 and 3,000 people are expected,” says De Jager, his eyes shining at the thought. Hage already has a dream scenario in his head. “Ruben can score two and I can score three,” laughs the physically strong Hoek attacker. “Derbies are always disappointing,” says De Jager. “There are high expectations, with a lot of struggle and then football no longer comes first. But we keep the three points: 2-1 and then a party at the Wesselopark.”

And of course both attackers know that more than three points are at stake. “There’s a lot of talk about it,” Hage says. “It’s nice to be able to say afterwards that you are the best team in the province.”