Reigning champions Rotterdam get off to a historically poor start

Rotterdam began the league with a 3-1 defeat away at Bloemendaal and, a week later, lost 3-4 at home to Amsterdam. Their third attempt also failed to yield any points. In Den Bosch, the team once again scored three goals, but came away empty-handed for the third time.

That is unprecedented. Never before has a reigning national champion lost its first three league matches of the following season. Until this weekend, Amsterdam in 2012–13 was the only title holder to have started with two defeats. At the time, the Amsterdam side first lost at home to Pinoké (3–4) and then 7–4 away at Kampong.

Amsterdam then avoided a third defeat by fighting back strongly on the third round: they beat Voordaan 9-1. After that, the team remained unbeaten for a further six league matches. Ultimately, the reigning champions finished fifth that season and thus missed out on the play-offs.

Rotterdam is now the sole record holder with three defeats from their first three matches. It is worth noting that, following their opening defeat, the champions did score three goals on each occasion, but conceded more goals each time. After three matches, their record stands at zero points, with seven goals scored and eleven conceded.

This coming Sunday, Rotterdam will have another chance to pick up their first points of the season when they host SCHC at home.