Feyenoord was nearly stunned by the NEC in their own Kuips in round 16 of the KNVB Cup, but the first-class leaders were spared a shock after a sensational catch-up race and extra time on penalties.
In the final stage, the home team were only able to catch up with a 0:2 gap, then they couldn’t go beyond 4:4 with another man between the lines in overtime.
nice rust
Feyenoord had by far the most ball before the timeout, but couldn’t do much with it. This time, Arne Slot’s team, who chose Danilo instead of Santiago Gimenez in the striker, looked weak in offense.
Meanwhile, NEC was barely in the game, but a good idea from Oussama Tannane was enough to open the score. Moroccan, who could not prevent former Feyeno’s goal, put Calvin Verdonk in front of goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther with a beautiful pass.
With halftime in sight, things got worse for the thirteen-time trophy winners and Tannane was back on the field. Wellenreuther failed to neutralize the slingshot, then Pedro Marques for Hahn took possession: 0:2.
With Gimenez and Quinten Timber on the roster, and later Javairô Dilrosun, Slot hoped to turn things around in the second half. The pressure on the Nijmegen goal increased, but again there were no big chances for a long time.
Penalty gives hope
Up until the last twenty minutes, NEC got to work and after Dilrosun’s good work, Gimenez was a sigh of relief when he shot high from close range over the goal. Moments later, the Mexican spotted an inverted slide from under the bar by Mattijs Branderhorst, who replaced first NEC goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen in the cup tournament. The rear post was also made when Lutsharel Geertruida replaced him.
Orkun Kökcü’s penalty in the 90th minute after the hands of Philippe Sandler, who was dismissed with a red card, became a ray of hope for the home fans. This one fell far behind his favourites. And not for nothing: in extra time – at least seven minutes – substitute Igor Paixão Feyenoord landed next to NEC.
The team from Rotterdam even thought an extension was avoidable. The pressure on the Nijmegen goal increased greatly and at the same time created the best chances, but the elite Branderhorst did not give up. Both teams went to overtime.
carelessness
One man ahead, Feyenoord naturally took the attack, but a moment of inattention at the 96th minute caused the home team to fall behind again. The energetic Jordy Bruijn delivered the final blow. But two minutes later the lead was gone: Gimenez made a cross from Dilrosun.
The second seemed to have decided to fight with four minutes left in overtime. He slalomed two Nijmegen players and put his team ahead for the first time with a beautiful shot from the very top corner on that unforgettable cup night. But even with ten men, NEC didn’t want to give up.
And rightly so: 19-year-old substitute Mimeirhel Benita tried to clear a cross from Nijmegen just before Feyenoord’s goal, but failed to hit the ball well. Bruijn was there like chickens to send the ball into the ropes and take the game to the penalty spot.
Wellenreuther was the hero of the night, not Branderhorst, the strong goalkeeper who made at least 23 saves in the match. He was the only man from Nijmegen to save a penalty from Ilias Bronkhorst. Paixão then took Feyenoord to the quarterfinals.
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
