'01 1-0
'48 2-0
'70 2-1 Karim Bannani

PSV showed in Saturday's away match against Sparta that they not only have footballing skills but also an excellent match mentality. After a dramatic start, the team played a good first and especially second half, grabbing Sparta by the throat and not letting go. PSV just failed to bite through, allowing Sparta to take the win against the odds.

The match started with a big disappointment for the B2. In the first minute Sparta gratefully took advantage of a mistake by a PSV player around the halfway line, which was punished with a quick counter that left goalkeeper Mike van de Meulenhof without a chance for the Sparta striker who came through on his own, 1-0. PSV recovered well and played a good first half, in which Sparta mainly gambled on sharp counters. Neither team had any real chances in the first half, although midfielder Sam Lammers created an excellent opportunity for himself in the 26th minute when he stepped up from midfield with the ball at his feet to the edge of the penalty area and fired hard, only to see his shot foiled by the Sparta goalkeeper.

In the 2nd half, PSV played forcibly and had Sparta completely in its grasp, although even now they had to take a big hit in the early stages. In the 48th minute PSV scored the equalizer from a free kick, which was disallowed for offside. Immediately from the turnaround 2 Spartans appeared in front of the outrunner Mike van de Meulenhof, who was outplayed after a scramble. After the first Sparta effort was blocked by a PSV player, the ball was shot in. The 2-0 did not paralyze PSV at all, on the contrary the team went in search of goals at a high pace. Typical for that phase was that the Sparta keeper was on the pitch for a total of about 15 minutes, while PSV's water bag, which they brought with them this week, did not leave the dugout once during the entire match. In addition to battling, PSV played good football and created a number of excellent chances. Striker Cody Gakpo was close to 2-1 in the '51 minute with a brilliant 'Bergkamp'-action in which he tipped the ball over his opponent and volleyed in from the air, but saw his effort saved, and Sam Lammers saw 2 good goal attempts after individual actions go just past and be handled by the goalkeeper. Finally, we had to wait until the 70th minute for PSV to get at least some payback. Cody Gapko was played into the Rotterdam penalty area with his back to goal and extended the ball to Karim Bannani, who was completely free to his left. Bannani shot the ball into the far corner, 1-2. In the tumultuous final phase that followed, both teams had another big chance, but the score remained unchanged.

A fine match in which 3 points were earned but 3 were lost. With the wins by their rivals, PSV dropped to 5th place in the league table, 5 points behind leader Feyenoord. With 3 league games left, everything is still undecided, at least in theory.


Mike van de Meulenhof; Bram Zwanen - Kaan Tanriver - Roy Gielen - Roel van Linschoten; Jaëll Hattu (©) - Sam Lammers - Elmo Hertogh ('76 Jules Respen); Arnaut Groeneveld - Cody Gakpo - Karim Bannani.

On the bench not substituted: Tim Latiers; Nick de Louw; Colin Bruisten.