Never before has an edition of PSV U21 - Roda JC ended with a winner. That tradition, with Maxi Romero and Richard Ledezma in the squad, was to be broken. But after a match with two completely different faces, that statistic remains intact.
Open match
Flanked by two hundred away supporters, PSV U21 immediately went on the attack. A sharp cross from Johan Bakayoko allowed Maxi Romero to strike within the first minute. His shot did not yield a goal. At the other end, the ball did go in, but a reaction followed quickly, very quickly. Because less than a minute later, Ismael Saibari took a shot from distance. His effort flew into the corner of the goal and so the score was level again. What followed was a true spectacle. Ruud van Nistelrooy's men fell behind, but then turned it around completely with flashy and attacking football. Through once again Saibari and Johan Bakayoko , both teams went to rest at 3-2.
Ghost of the first half
PSV U21 raced across the field like a whirlwind at times in the first half. At the start of the second half, they found it difficult to play football and gave away many corner kicks. The visitors took advantage of this and equalized. What followed was a long phase in which the game was played mainly in the midfield. This continued until deep into the second half. Then both teams started looking more emphatically for a winning goal. However, the second half was a shadow of the first and it remained that way, as no real chances came. And so the points were traditionally shared.
Peersmans; Markelo, Seelt, Vos, Oppegård; Kjølo, (46/Tielemans) Ledezma, (82/Antonisse) Nassoh; Bakayoko, (46/Priske Flyger) Romero, (82/Colyn) Saibari.