Sinisterra nets last-minute winner to down Utrecht

The hosts long looked comfortable under blue Rotterdam skies. FC Utrecht showed little in the way of threat and coach Arne Slot’s side took the lead just before the break when Mike van der Hoorn put it into his own net. The hosts then took the game by the scruff of the neck, creating chance after chance in the hunt for a second.

The picture changed dramatically on 64 minutes though, when the visitors struck in the course of a rare foray into enemy territory. Sander van de Streek slid home to level things and as if that was not bad enough, Marcos Senesi was injured in the process. The Argentine was unable to continue, which meant that Feyenoord had to go in search of a winner in the final 30 minutes without their skipper.

A third goal of the afternoon didn’t look particularly imminent, in spite of Feyenoord’s utter dominance in terms of both possession and territory. Feyenoord kept plugging away, but their energy started to wane as the clock ticked down. A point would certainly have been too little a return on the afternoon’s efforts, particularly given the situation in the table, and the situation on the pitch, as Ofir Marciano had virtually nothing to do in the second half.

With that in mind, the relief was immense around De Kuip when the hosts finally managed to shunt FC Utrecht’s parked bus away from between the posts. The breakthrough came from Sinisterra, who created the space he needed to rattle in a hard shot that broke visitors’ hearts. It also led to jubilant scenes throughout the stadium and on the pitch.

The late win is sure to give Feyenoord a boost ahead of Thursday’s Europa Conference League semifinal first leg against Olympique Marseille at De Kuip. That one kicks off at 21:00 CET.