Footballer killed in train accident memorialized before match

The EMK football team from Neunen played their first match on Thursday after losing striker Ruud Bijsterveld in a violent accident with a beer bike last week. The team started the match with a minute of silence to memorialize their friend and teammate. The team was celebrating their championship title on a beer bike in Eindhoven on Monday last week. The beer bike got stuck on a railroad crossing and was hit by a train. Ruud Bijsterveld lost his life. Before the match coach Toon van der Loo told AD that he hopes that playing the match will lift his team's spirits. "That's the only thing we can do", he said to the newspaper. He was confident that his players will do everything to make sure the match is a beautiful tribute to their friend and teammate. Hundreds of people gathered at the club to watch the match, both people from the club and members of other teams in the league.

Minuut stilte voor Ruud Bijsterveld pic.twitter.com/is6ghHw9ME

— Victor Schildkamp (@VSchildkamp) April 30, 2015

En vuurwerk, voor Ruud Bijsterveld, hele veld nu in de rook pic.twitter.com/jitXUWJy0b

— Victor Schildkamp (@VSchildkamp) April 30, 2015