After the first (points) loss last week in the direct game against rival Cortgene/JOVZ, today the away game against WSC B1 was on the program. An opponent we had a tough time with in Eindhoven, but still managed to keep the 3 points with a 3-0 victory.
The conditions were similar to last week. Mild sunshine, hard and bumpy pitch. But also: an incomplete selection. Whereas last week we could call on a number of players from the C1, this time that was not possible. Due to injuries to Passeka and Endy, the bench was very thin. Only field player Aron and backup goalkeeper Zeus were available.
Soon after the start signal, PSV took control. This led to a number of chances and opportunities. Rai and Sander both came close to scoring the opening goal with a header that unfortunately did not hit the target. The game was mainly played in the Waalwijkse half. Halfway through the first half WSC became bolder and showed more presence in the Eindhoven half. Especially the fast striker lurked on the counter for personal success. About 5 minutes before the end of the first half, PSV got a few chances to move the counter on the scoreboard. Rai was sent into the depths fine by Michael, but found himself in a difficult corner. He cleverly avoided the keeper, but his shot on goal was just touched by a Waalwijk defender. Barely a minute later it was Joep who missed a great opportunity from close range. He had run through when the goalkeeper let go of a tricky free kick from Clint. Unfortunately, his effort went wide. So it looked like we would go into the break with the so called 'glasses position'. But Sander thought differently. After a pass from Michael, he found himself alone in front of the goalie and coolly slid the ball under him. 0-1 for PSV!
After halftime Sven was substituted for Aron. Joep moved one line back. It looked like PSV had to get used to the new composition. Because in the space of a few minutes the Waalwijk striker was able to get in front of goalie Jesse twice. The first time Jesse narrowed his goal well and the striker shot wide. The second time he saved skilfully. But PSV also had chances to increase their lead. Rai just saw his shot blocked, Sander got through on the left but his cross was shot high over by Michael. Halfway through the second half, PSV had another great opportunity. A free kick by Clint was cleverly laid wide to the completely free Michael. His sharp cross reached Olivier, but he needed just too much time to get the ball in front of his foot. Away chance. A little later Rai shot the outside of the post from a difficult angle. That was also his last effort. Because he was substituted for Zeus, who this time went to the front instead of the goal. Like a kind of "Crouch" of PSV, he served Sander on the left who completely outran his opponent. Only for the goalkeeper he failed this time. And so with a few minutes left to play it remained incredibly exciting. After the assistant of WSC was removed from the field with red by the referee (comment on the man in -this time- white), PSV swooned. The WSC striker was quickest to anticipate a passed ball and his seething shot sailed past the cross. The counter attack was effective. And again it was Sander who had a big part in it. Not for the first time he was faster than his direct opponent. He outran him and with the ball at his foot he went into the goal area. For a moment it looked like he wanted to run the ball over the goal line, but Michael tapped the ball just last. Thus PSV finally took the 3 points in the bag to Eindhoven. A difficult victory. But as the saying goes, "if you win matches like this, you will become.....". Still 5 games to go for us. In which we have 2 loss points less than Cortgene/JOVZ. Next Wednesday the catch-up game against GJS.