Feyenoord V1 keep tie alive after historic European night

A group of Feyenoord supporters had travelled to Belgium by bus to support the team on the historic occasion. They saw Feyenoord fall behind after just three minutes, when Anderlecht opened the scoring: 1-0.

The task became even more difficult after 18 minutes. Tess van Bentem was shown a red card after catching an opponent in the head with her studs, leaving Feyenoord to play the remainder of the match with ten players.

Despite that setback, Feyenoord refused to give in. Anderlecht had opportunities to extend their lead, but Pieters’ side stayed in the contest and continued to look for chances of their own.

That resilience was rewarded after the break. Romée van de Lavoir made it 1-1 and wrote her name into the history books in the process, scoring the first European goal in Feyenoord V1 history.

The equaliser did not last long, however, as Anderlecht soon restored their advantage to make it 2-1. The home side then had chances to increase the margin, with Feyenoord fortunate on a few occasions to avoid conceding again.

At the same time, Feyenoord continued to produce a strong performance despite being a player down. With ten players, the team kept the deficit to a minimum and remained competitive until the final whistle.

The score remained 2-1 after 90 minutes, meaning Feyenoord take a one-goal deficit back to Rotterdam. The return leg in the opening round of the UEFA Women’s Europa Cup will be played next Wednesday at Varkenoord.