Feyenoord and Real Mallorca failed to find the net in a preseason friendlyat De Kuip on Wednesday. Feyenoord had the better of the game and createdthe best opportunities, but coach Ronald Koeman's side were unable to makethe breakthrough against the Spanish visitors. Omar Elabdellaoui came offthe bench to made his unofficial debut for the Rotterdammers.
The main plus from the game was that Feyenoord kept Real Mallorca quiet for
most of the 90 minutes. The Spanish team were a real threat when the sides
met two years ago in similar circumstances, opening up the Feyenoord defence
on a number of occasions with a slick passing game. This time, though, the
danger was limited to two shots from distance. The first was easily
collected by Erwin Mulder, while the second was well wide of the mark.
Real Mallorca's failure to trouble the home goal was down to Feyenoord's
excellent discipline and organisation. Marshalled by Ron Vlaar, who returned
to the starting line-up after missing the first half against FC Dordrecht
due to interest from Aston Villa, the home defence never really gave the
visitors a sniff.
At the other end Feyenoord showed promise, especially on the counter. It led
to two big chances within the first fifteen minutes. The first fell to Sekou
Cissé, who was put through by Stefan de Vrij's outstanding cross-field pass,
but the striker shot straight into the keeper's hands. Not long after, Lex
Immers found himself with only the keeper to beat, but his touch took the
ball out of his reach and he was unable to fire off a shot. Twenty minutes
later Feyenoord's new number ten had a great chance to net from a Ruben
Schaken cross, but he failed to make full contact with the ball.
The pattern was repeated after the break. The tempo was a little low, but
Feyenoord were clearly bossing it. Koeman will have been pleased to see how
comfortable his side looked, as Real Mallorca struggled to get within
reasonable shooting distance of Erwin Mulder's goal. He will have been less
satisfied with his side's inability to convert that dominance into clear-cut
chances.
It was only in the final quarter of an hour, with substitutes Jerson Cabral
and new arrivals Harmeet Singh and Omar Elabdellaoui on the pitch that
Feyenoord started to turn the screw. The nearest the hosts came to a goal
was through Lex Immers. Elabdellaoui earned a free kick just outside the box
with his first ball contact in a Feyenoord shirt. Jordy Clasie knocked the
ball into the penalty area, but Immers headed onto the bar.
Feyenoord Real Mallorca 0-0
Referee: Van Sichem
Yellow: Victor, Lluis (Real Mallorca)
Teams:
Feyenoord: Mulder; Leerdam (46¹ Janmaat), De Vrij, Vlaar, Martins Indi;
Vormer (64¹ Singh), Immers, Clasie; Schaken (72¹ Cabral), Fernandez, Cissé
(72¹ Elabdellaoui).
Real Mallorca: Aouate; Navarro, Nunes, Ramis, Lopez; Pina, Marquez (54¹
Lluis), Alfaro (82¹ Joao); Pereira (60¹ Arizmendi), Gimenez (42¹ Tomer),
Victor (72¹ Bigas).
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