Body blow for Feyenoord against basement club
Feyenoord dropped two valuable Eredivisie points at De Kuip on Saturday evening. Dick Advocaat’s team looked to be coasting against FC Emmen, but their struggling opponents managed to grab a second-half equaliser and the match ended 1-1. Aliou Balde made his Feyenoord first-team debut in the final stages.
When the sides went in at the break Feyenoord seemed to be heading for a win and a welcome three points. Orkun Kökcü had been rewarded for his chutzpa on 37 minutes when his speculative effort caught a deflection that guided it into the back of the net. The lead was deserved, as the hosts had the edge. The visitors were not afraid to try their luck going forward too. But in the final analysis FC Emmen scarcely troubled Nick Marsman.
Ahead of kick-off Advocaat had stressed the importance of his side taking full advantage of their five remaining home league matches to mount a challenge for third or fourth place in the Eredivisie, with the ultimate goal of Europa Langue football next season.
With that in mind, the decline in Feyenoord’s performance as the second half wore on was hard to fathom. The hosts had a number of opportunities to extend their lead against the Eredivisie’s bottom-place club, but instead allowed the visitors to muscle their way back into the contest.
Suddenly FC Emmen felt they could get something from their visit. And a clumsy foul by Lutsharel Geertruida gave them their in. Referee Kevin Blom did not see enough to give a penalty, but after studying the images on a monitor on the sidelines he pointed to the spot. Michael de Leeuw stepped up to net and bring his side level.
Advocaat responded by bringing on three attackers in the form of Nicolai Jørgensen, Róbert Bozeník and debutant Aliou Balde, but his side were unable to engineer a breakthrough. It all means that Feyenoord enter the international break with plenty to think about, as European qualification is still a way off.
Ahead of kick-off Advocaat had stressed the importance of his side taking full advantage of their five remaining home league matches to mount a challenge for third or fourth place in the Eredivisie, with the ultimate goal of Europa Langue football next season.
With that in mind, the decline in Feyenoord’s performance as the second half wore on was hard to fathom. The hosts had a number of opportunities to extend their lead against the Eredivisie’s bottom-place club, but instead allowed the visitors to muscle their way back into the contest.
Suddenly FC Emmen felt they could get something from their visit. And a clumsy foul by Lutsharel Geertruida gave them their in. Referee Kevin Blom did not see enough to give a penalty, but after studying the images on a monitor on the sidelines he pointed to the spot. Michael de Leeuw stepped up to net and bring his side level.
Advocaat responded by bringing on three attackers in the form of Nicolai Jørgensen, Róbert Bozeník and debutant Aliou Balde, but his side were unable to engineer a breakthrough. It all means that Feyenoord enter the international break with plenty to think about, as European qualification is still a way off.
- #feyemm
- Feyenoord 1
- Orkun Kökcü
- Aliou Balde