PSV played a very entertaining match on Saturday away against Vitesse, in which the Arnheimers, contrary to what the result suggests, were not much stronger but much more effective. In both the 1st and 2nd halves, PSV got a handful of goal-ready chances and should have actually built up a big lead. However, PSV only managed to score twice, after which Vitesse punished the lack of decisiveness on the Eindhoven side in the last 2 minutes of the match with 2 goals from a free kick and a counter.
Although Vitesse made things difficult for PSV in the first half through good positional play and the creation of spaces that required many meters to be covered, they did not create any real big chances and PSV was by far the most dangerous team. In the 5th minute Joey Konings already had the 0-1 on his shoe when he was sent off by Dante Rigo alone towards the Arnhem goal. His effort was stopped by the goalkeeper and the ball hit the post. PSV took the lead in the 18th minute with a great goal by Arnaut Groeneveld, who was sent into the box by Dante Rigo and saw his hard shot hit the underside of the crossbar into the Arnhem goal. Despite several more excellent opportunities for Robin Schoonbrood and Joey Konings, among others, the counter remained at 1 at halftime.
Soon in the second half, PSV had to pay the price for not extending the score. In the 49th minute Vitesse came alongside when the fast right-wing striker came through on the side and his cross was headed in at the 1st post, 1-1. Just a few minutes later, Vitesse was further beaten by PSV, after ball was lost in midfield and the Arnhemmers easily made it 2-1 from a quick conversion, so PSV were facing a deficit within 5 minutes. After the equalizer, Vitesse immediately changed their style of play and started using the long ball. This resulted in a completely different game picture, making for an exciting second half. Although PSV also had the best chances in that phase, only Arnaut Groeneveld managed to score in the 57th minute after a fine individual action. With 2-2 on the scoreboard and 20 minutes left on the clock, the match could go either way. After PSV was unable to score in the closing stages, although Robin Schoonbrood and Joey Konings came face to face with the Arnhem goalkeeper, the dreaded danger manifested itself 2 minutes before the final whistle; Vitesse did score. In the 78th minute an awarded free kick was shot through the wall, 3-2. Well into injury time, Vitesse then determined the final score at 4-2 from a counter.
The B2's next league game is on March 8 at home against AZ.
'18 1-0 Arnaut Groeneveld
'49 1-1
'53 2-1
'57 2-2 Arnaut Groeneveld
'78 3-2
'80+ 4-2
Mike van de Meulenhof; Tom Scheepers © - Maarten Peijnenburg - Armando Obispo - Roel van Linschoten; Jaëll Hattu - Dante Rigo ('62 Bram Zwanen) - Robin Schoonbrood; Arnaut Groeneveld - Joey Konings - Elmo Hertogh.
On the bench not substituted: Stef Tissen, Juul Respen, Nick de Louw.
Yellow card: Maarten Peijnenburg (bringing down opponent).