In inclement winter weather, the match against these Zeelanders started a little later than planned. That did not spoil the fun or the will to play: we got to see a nice football match, in which Cortgene stood its ground well into the second half. PSV had to work hard, because the return match was 'only' won 0-2. That meant Cortgene's players, led by an athletic coaching coach, saw some opportunities. They played short to the man, put constant pressure on our game and where many an opponent can only keep this up for 15 minutes, Cortgene's stranglehold lasted until midway through the second half.

PSV played dynamically and created plenty of chances. For example, Robin took advantage of a wrong return ball, but kicked the ball just wide, Armando just couldn't get his head to Roland's corner and Cody shot his free kick just over. Lars profiled himself with two measured depth passes, but no goal came from those either. Cortgene smelled opportunities and broke through a few times. Pepijn kept his goal clean with a tight catch and a perfect save. He was helped by attentive defense by Lars and Armando, who cleared the ball off the line. On the stroke of half time Ruud was sent from midfield towards the corner flag, crossed the ball well but Robin's effort was blocked by the strong playing number four.

With an addition of five 'fresh' players, trainer Bastiaan tried to turn the tide. Yet Cortgenes defense held firm for a while and it took at least ten minutes before Cody could open the score to his own credit. In his pursuit of the ball in the rear, he was quicker than expected, blocked the keeper's shot and kicked the ball in. Especially this way of scoring was the final blow for the opponent as well as a boost for PSV. Ruud saw his shot turned away by the goalkeeper after a strong slalom, but his efforts were rewarded moments later when he fired in Justin's rock hard ball. The speed of Amar did not keep up with Cortgene and from his cross fell the third goal of the well positioned Justin. At the other end, Steven also came on at full speed. Amar just missed his cross, but Cody managed to hit it. The pre-work of the 5-0 was a one-two between Justin and Jordan, but the attentive Cody rounded it off nicely with a marker. The final piece would have to be the goal attempt by Jordan who launched a hard shot from the side that bounced out through the underside of the crossbar. The 6-0 was scored by Justin; a perfect header on a cross from Amar.

Satisfied and satisfied we went to the warm canteen to analyze a beautiful match and the cold weather.

Ank Gakpo-van Bommel