Feyenoord V1 through in UEFA Women’s Europa Cup despite defeat

Feyenoord travelled to Norway in a strong position. Compared to the first leg, Tess van Bentem returned to the starting line-up after serving her two-match European suspension following her red card against Anderlecht.

The expected early onslaught from Vålerenga did not really materialise. Feyenoord regularly dictated the tempo during the opening quarter of an hour, although they were also sloppy in possession and made too many mistakes, particularly in the first 20 minutes. The first opportunity fell to Tori DellaPeruta after ten minutes, but her effort was saved by the Vålerenga keeper.

The home side also struggled to put Feyenoord under serious pressure during the remainder of the first half, and the teams went into the break with the score still 0-0.

The pattern of the game remained largely the same after half-time, although Vålerenga now created several good chances. Claire Dinkla was called into action on multiple occasions and produced a number of strong saves to keep the Norwegian side from taking the lead.

Dinkla was eventually beaten in the 72nd minute, when Vålerenga headed home from a corner to make it 1-0. Feyenoord equalised fourteen minutes later. Fleur Stoit, who had only recently come off the bench, embarked on a long solo run before finishing well to make it 1-1.

That scoreline did not last until the final whistle. Vålerenga scored again in the third minute of stoppage time to secure a 2-1 victory. The defeat did not affect the outcome of the tie, however: thanks to their convincing win at Varkenoord, Feyenoord secured their place in the main draw of the UEFA Women’s Europa Cup.

The draw for the next round will take place on Friday.

Scoring summary
72’ 1-0
86’ 1-1 Stoit
90+3’ 2-1

Feyenoord line-up
Dinkla; De Graaf, Brandt, Van Bentem, Sasaki (76’ Akachar); Van Deursen, Iwasaki (76’ Haverhoek), Kroezen (82’ Van de Westeringh); Van de Lavoir, DellaPeruta (82’ Stoit), Dostmohamed (89’ Hulswit)