The first weekend of September! For 2 reasons always a time to look forward to. Because then the fair is back in my village (incl "dwarf throwing" and the famous clicker-king) .... but most of all: the start of the league!
After a good preparation and good cup game last weekend (with an almost complete C2, Volendam C1 was defeated 3-1), this weekend the season opening was on the program. Opponent: the Rotterdam Excelsior.
Because the Rotterdam goalkeeper only had a goalkeeper shirt with him that looked too much like the blue PSV shirt, the young man kept his goal in a PSV shirt today. That promised much good before kickoff. And soon it proved to be true. After PSV goalie Kyan van Dorp defused an Excelsior shot in the 3rd minute, PSV showed in the same minute how to attack efficiently. A fantastic long ball from behind by Abou Kone ended up with left winger Gregory Kuisch, who passed his opponent at speed. Because the goalkeeper was far from his goal, Gregory was able to cross the ball over the goalkeeper where it was a piece of cake for striker Sem van den Broek to tap the ball over the goal line from close range: 1-0.
After the quickly gained lead, the Eindhoven team remained the better team. Quietly combining, they looked for holes in the Rotterdam defense. Especially on both wings, the team of trainers Edwin de Wijs and Eric Addo regularly came through dangerously. Not only the wingers Arne Bens and Gregory Kuisch were dangerous, but also backs Benjamin Kailie and Tijn Daverveld showed themselves in front. These attacks did not lead to goals. Inaccurate passing, wrong choices or sloppy finishing prevented a bigger Eindhoven lead. A shot by Joep Hakkens went over, a header by Koen Oostenbrink went past the goal and Arne Bens was unfortunate in his finishing touch when his marker was just saved by the goalkeeper after a smooth, double one-two with Sem van den Broek.
Yet just before halftime, PSV got the deserved 2-0. A nice opening by captain Joop Daniels on Gregory was appreciated by the latter and he curled the ball beautifully over the (again) outrun keeper in the far corner.
After half time PSV quickly calmed down when Koen Oostenbrink got the ball at his feet at a corner and finished in a controlled manner: 3-0. Just two minutes later it was another goal. And just like the first goal, Abou Kone had a big part in it. With the ball at his feet he stepped up from behind, avoiding a couple of opponents. Suddenly he was alone in front of the goal, but instead of going for his own success, he gave the goal to Sekou Sidibe who easily scored the 4-0.
After an hour of play, PSV extended its lead to 5-0. A corner by Joop Daniels landed on the head of substitute Yasin Aalillou, who extended the ball backwards to Vince Colpaert. His cross was promoted to goal by Sem van den Broek via a kind of half-turn.
The match was, of course, long and wide played with this. But still a lot happened in the final minutes. First of all, Abou Kone was sent off with a red card after an alleged kick with his knee when there was no ball in the area, Yasin Aalillou was still very close to scoring his sixth goal, despite the underdog, and Joop Daniels got away with a yellow card after he was too late in a duel halfway through the Rotterdam half. Because Tijn Daverveld also got a yellow card in the first half, you might think that PSV had a hard time with Excelsior despite the big result. But that was by no means the case. Had it been more careful in the final stages, a bigger result would have been a possibility sooner. Let's keep the cards on youthful recklessness, and hopefully it is a good learning experience for the players.
In any case, the league start is fine. Curious to see if the team can continue the line next weekend. Then the away game at Feyenoord is on the program.
Kyan van Dorp; Tijn Daverveld (36' Joey Verhoeven) Abou Koné, Koen Oostenbrink (51' Yasin Aalillou), Benjamin Kailie (51' Vince Colpaert); Evert Linthorst, Joep Hakkens (36' Sekou Sidibe), Joop Daniels (c); Arne Bens, Sem van den Broek, Gregory Kuisch.
Red card: Abou Kone
Yellow cards: Tijn Daverveld, Joop Daniels