Can one player turn a cup tie into a procession?

What does it take to make a cup tie feel like a foregone conclusion? For VVV-Venlo, the answer arrived in the shape of Andrés, the Spanish striker borrowed from Ajax, who helped himself to four goals in a 7-1 win over SV Kozakken Boys that was as one-sided as the score suggests.

The evening began with VVV's manager shuffling a squad shorn of regulars, handing starts to new signings and fringe players. Andrés, normally a right winger, was deployed through the middle. The switch proved inspired. He peppered the Kozakken Boys goal with ten shots, nine on target, and his four goals came in a torrent that the visitors could not stem. By the time he was withdrawn on 76 minutes, the contest had long been settled.

Mohamed Turay, introduced at half-time, added three assists and a constant menace, while Ricardo Marín struck twice before his own half-time withdrawal. The statistics told a story of complete control: 30 shots to three, 14 on target to one. Kozakken Boys, who finished with ten men? No, they finished with eleven, but they were chasing shadows for much of the night.

Andrés's haul was the centrepiece, a reminder that a player of his pedigree—a loanee from Ajax—can illuminate even the earliest rounds of a competition. His movement, his anticipation, his sheer certainty in front of goal were of a different order. For VVV, it was a night to savour; for Kozakken Boys, a chastening lesson in the ruthlessness of the professional game.

Cup football has a way of throwing up such afternoons, where one player's brilliance turns a contest into a procession. Andrés will remember this one for a while, and so will the defenders who spent ninety minutes in his wake.