Eerste Divisie 1996/97 Due to the construction work on the new stadium, Den Bosch started the season with 4 away games, the first three of which were narrowly lost. The fourth was won, with a last minute goal in Velsen, but the first home match of the season didn't result in the win everybody but the opponents hoped for, V.V.V. coming back twice from behind. After that, Den Bosch started a good series, winning 4 out of 6 matches and climbing to the "left row on teletext" -- only to lose that place after losing away to bottom club Haarlem, handing the Spaarnestad outfit the first win of the season and postponing the 200th away win for Den Bosch in professional league football. It took a while, but then it finally was achieved - away at promotion candidates Go Ahead Eagles! The next game was a home win over leaders Emmen, and that catapulted Den Bosch in the left row again - just seven points off the lead. It was also the first ever win over Emmen after ten previous tries. Unfortunately, the last game before the winter break resulted in the first home loss, 0-1 against Veendam, and a drop back to 11th place - but still only 8 points off the lead. The restart after the winter break saw another disappointing home defeat, 1-2 against Zwolle, and the promotion playoffs suddenly look much harder to reach. The next two matches saw convincing home wins against low-table teams (RBC and Telstar), and a return to the "left row" of the table, only 3 points behind 5th place which would most likely mean playoffs; however, for the first time in the season, Den Bosch have played more often home than away. The following draw at VVV meant a consolidation of the subtop position and the 1500th point in professional football for BVV/Den Bosch (counting all playoffs as well, and 3 points a win in the relevant seasons). A few weeks later, the home win against Den Haag brought the 900th home point (again, including playoffs and "3-point-wins"), and Den Bosch remained in the race for 5th place, which will mean a ticket to the promotion playoffs (assuming Cambuur and Emmen remain in the top-5). After a disappointing draw in the derby against TOP (rumours have it that a merger is on the cards, let's hope they prove wrong), Den Bosch earned two valuable wins away to Helmond and Heracles (both traditional victims) and very much remain in the race for a playoff spot. Confidence was further boosted by an impressive win over Feyenoord in a friendly on the occasion of the opening of the renovated stadium De Vliert. Days later, a home loss against bottom club Haarlem (the second defeat against the Spaarnestedelingen in the season and the 200th home defeat in professional football) made the task a daunting one and the two following, unlucky losses against championship pretenders MVV and Cambuur made it seem mission impossible. The following 4-4 at Dordrecht was noteworthy in that the home side became the first club in professional football to have let in 100 goals against BVV/Den Bosch (Dordrecht itself having had 4 different identities as well). After a 5-2 home win over the Go Ahead Eagles, Den Bosch were left 1 point behind a place in the playoffs. In spite of winning the last match at Emmen, the playoffs remained out of reach, since Zwolle won at the Eagles. The possible playoff place was lost earlier, at home to Haarlem... Check here for more data on the regular season. All results: against home away total 96/97 overall total 54-97 Cambuur Leeuwarden 0-1 0-1 2 0 0 2 0- 2 0 50 18 14 18 68-70 50 [Leeuwarden, S.C. Cambuur] Dordrecht '90 4-1 4-4 2 1 1 0 8- 5 3 62 23 18 21 102-97 64 [D.F.C., F.C. Dordrecht, D.S. '79] Eindhoven 1-0 0-1 2 1 0 1 1- 1 2 46 17 13 16 68-62 47 Emmen 1-0 2-0 2 2 0 0 3- 0 4 12 2 5 5 12-15 9 Excelsior 2-1 1-0 2 2 0 0 3- 1 4 44 14 17 13 54-55 45 Go Ahead Eagles 5-2 3-2 2 2 0 0 8- 4 4 24 11 3 10 36-26 25 [Go Ahead] A.D.O. Den Haag 2-1 1-1 2 1 1 0 3- 2 3 22 8 5 9 33-44 21 [A.D.O., F.C. Den Haag] Haarlem 2-3 1-2 2 0 0 2 3- 5 0 45 18 10 17 63-59 46 Helmond Sport 3-1 2-1 2 2 0 0 5- 2 4 46 24 11 11 96-46 59 [Helmondia '55] Heracles 3-2 1-0 2 2 0 0 4- 2 4 46 23 15 8 79-55 61 M.V.V. 1-1 1-2 2 0 1 1 2- 3 1 32 11 7 14 39-48 29 R.B.C. 3-0 1-2 2 1 0 1 4- 2 2 24 13 2 9 50-32 28 Telstar 3-1 3-2 2 2 0 0 6- 3 4 32 19 5 8 48-28 43 [V.S.V.] T.O.P. Oss 0-0 1-3 2 0 1 1 1- 3 1 10 4 3 3 16-15 11 [T.O.P.] Veendam 0-1 0-1 2 0 0 2 0- 2 0 50 16 16 18 68-71 48 V.V.V. 2-2 1-1 2 0 2 0 3- 3 2 44 12 13 19 60-72 37 [F.C. V.V.V.] F.C. Zwolle 1-2 0-1 2 0 0 2 1- 3 0 34 13 9 12 52-43 35 [P.E.C., P.E.C. Zwolle] Home record 17 10 3 4 33-19 23 741 345 195 201 1242- 899 885 corrected for 3/win 17 10 3 4 33-19 33 741 345 195 201 1242- 899 904 Away record 17 6 3 8 22-24 15 741 203 194 344 889-1255 600 corrected for 3/win 17 6 3 8 22-24 21 741 203 194 344 889-1255 612 Neutral venues 2 2 0 0 4- 1 4 Total 34 16 6 12 55-43 38 1484 550 389 545 2135-2155 1489 corrected for 3/win 34 16 6 12 55-43 54 1484 550 389 545 2135-2155 1520