SC Cambuur's drop back to the Jupiler League last season, after spending three years in the Eredivisie, hit the club hard, but the confidence was there at the start of the new campaign as the Leeuwarden club announced the title ambitions. Manager Rob Maas had to deal with immense pressure immediately though as his team somehow failed to bag the results, which was rather disappointing to say the least and that streak of far from impressive performances eventually resulted in Maas's departure in October. Sipke Hulshoff, who worked for Cambuur already, took over and Cambuur regained their form later on.
The Leeuwarden team finally showed their potential after the Winter break and they eventually entered the top five again. The positive atmosphere was back and the confidence pushed the performances to a higher level, especially near the end of the campaign. It was too late to push for the title, but Cambuur's third spot was actually quite satisfying with their disastrous start of the season still fresh in mind.
The club was in fact one of the favourites on forehand to seal promotion to the Eredivisie via the play-offs, but a shocking defeat against MVV Maastricht in the semi-final completely destroyed that dream. The 1-1 draw on the road in Maastricht put Cambuur in the perfect position with the home game still left to be played, but it all went horribly wrong in front of the own crowd as MVV Maastricht sealed the deal by bagging a last minute goal.
This was in fact a big shock for the fans and the staff and Cambuur will have to regain the confidence now to push for promotion next year. Key player Sander van de Streek, who bagged 22 goals in 33 appearances, is expected to leave the club, which isn't the best news for the Leeuwarden outfit and the staff will have to find a suitable replacement now.
