Feyenoord U19s retain title in Croatia

The Feyenoord Academy youngsters dominated possession from kick off in the Maksimir Stadium. That did not translate into chances, however, which made for a tense opening 45 minutes. Dinamo were dangerous on occasions, but keeper Joey Koorevaar had little to do in the first half.

Lead soon after the break
Feyenoord Under 19s finally made the breakthrough early in the second half. Cheick Touré whipped in a cross from a quick throw-in, which Toshio Lake converted with his head. With the Croatians chasing the game, there was more space for Feyenoord to attack into and the Dutch side exploited it to the full.

In a three against two, Lake passed to Summerville, who was hauled to the ground by the keeper. Summerville dusted himself off before netting the spot kick to double Feyenoord’s lead.

It looked like the tournament was in the bag, but the hosts pulled one back with five minutes to go to set up a nail-biting finish. A Dinamo Zagreb free kick delivered the ball in behind the Feyenoord defence, which was met by the head of a home striker.

Backed by their home supporters, the Croats looked to restore parity at the death, but they were unable to create anything promising and Feyenoord held out.

Player of the tournament
It is the second time that Feyenoord Under 19s have won the prestigious Mladen Ramljak Memorial Tournament. One of the Feyenoord players, Crysencio Summerville, was also named player of the tournament.

The victory is a big confidence boost for Dirk Kuyt’s men ahead of the new season. It gets underway on Saturday 31 August with a Super Cup tie against Ajax.

Dinamo Zagreb Under 19s 1–2 Feyenoord Under 19s
Scorers:
63’ 0-1 Lake
66’ 0-2 Summerville (penalty)
75’ 1-2

Feyenoord Under 19s: Koorevaar; Hall, Owusu, Van der Zeeuw (Valk), Hartman; Gündüz (Oulad M’hand), Zitman (Naujoks), De Mooij (Yates); Toure (Omgba), Belarbi (Lake), Summerville.