After a couple of weeks without football, PSV's o15 finally got back on the pitch for a league match. The away match against NAC Breda had been moved up a week due to participation in an indoor football tournament in Germany. Thanks to NAC!
With NAC, Edwin de Wijs' team faced a low-flyer. The home game was won 4-3. This final score suggests that the strength of both teams are close. But based on the home game, there really was a big difference. That just wasn't reflected in the scoring. For those readers who happened to watch this game: it was the game in which NAC had 1.5 chances, so to speak, but scored three goals.....
NAC away is traditionally a tricky game. For both the first and youth teams. Wonder who woke up best from hibernation.
The first minutes were overwhelmingly for PSV. It already had at least 3 opportunities to open the score. But just like in Eindhoven, NAC took the lead. And again, a blunder in the PSV defense was at the root of the deficit in the 7th minute.
The deficit did the level no good. The level was in step with the temperature: around freezing. Still, PSV went into the locker room with a lead. Was it first Fodé Fofana who scored the equalizer in the 23rd minute, then it was Jayden Braaf who put PSV up 1-2 after the NAC defense also acted slackly after a long pass from Mees Kreekels.
Just before halftime, the Eindhoven team was able to extend the score, but first Fodé pounced on the goalkeeper and in the attack that followed Damian Timan shot the ball just wide.
After the break, PSV's level was slightly better, but it was not yet satisfactory. In the 38th minute, Beslan Sagov got through on the right and his cross ended up in the path of Damian, whose shot was blocked.
It took until the 50th minute before PSV showed a good running attack. The ball went smoothly from one PSV player to another, after which Mo Ihattaren could be put in position. His shot, however, was turned away by the NAC goalkeeper.
Would this attack shake PSV awake? No, unfortunately it remained with this one attack this afternoon. Indeed: after another blunder at the back, the score was suddenly 2-2 in the 54th minute. Still quite a feat for NAC: not creating a handful of chances in 2 games, but scoring 5 against PSV.
In order not to lose any points, the team had to work hard in the last quarter of an hour. And without playing great, they got some chances. Lars Koolen hit the post after being played well by Beslan Sagov. The rebound went to a PSV player, but he needed too much time to get the ball in front of his foot.
With mere minutes to play, Jayden Braaf was sent deep by Lars Koolen. He used his body strongly to shake off his opponent and laid the ball back from the back line. There Mathijs Bel was able to shoot the ball freely. However, his shot was turned away on the goal line by a Breda defender. The referee had no doubt: red card for NAc and penalty for PSV. Captain Damian Timan got behind the ball and controlled the 2-3.
After this renewed lead, PSV was able to make it 2-4. After a beautiful action of Jayde Braaf on the left, he put the ball ready for Beslan Sagov. But unfortunately Beslan did not touch the ball enough to decide the game definitively.
There was no more scoring. After three consecutive draws, PSV escaped today and got back on the bus with three points. However, the level today was not the best. Hopefully the latter was an incident.
Victor Camps; Shurandy Sambo, Mees Kreekels, Elgero King (36' Lars Koolen), Jochem van Dijk; Mathijs Bel, Dennis Vos (36' Beslan Sagov), Damian Timan (c); Mo Ihattaren (56' Stijn van der Put), Jayden Braaf, Fodé Fofana (56' Thijs Martens).
Yellow card: Mees Kreekels