PSV Women drew 1-1 in the second leg in Denmark. This means that last week’s defeat (0-1) has not been erased. The team will therefore continue in the UEFA Women’s Europa League rather than the Champions League.
The opening phase clearly belonged to the Danish home team. Nicky Evrard, in collaboration with Maud Rutgers, cleared a shot off the line. It was the home team’s best chance, but certainly not the only one. It took a quarter of an hour for PSV to fully settle in. That settling-in was sparked by an attempt by Princess. The technically gifted forward shot over the bar.
The next scoring opportunity didn’t come until fifteen minutes later and was created by Liz Rijsbergen. The speedy winger easily cut inside her direct opponent, but her shot was blocked by the defense. Five minutes later, goalkeeper Evrard saved a huge scoring opportunity for the home team. Partly because of that, she was undoubtedly the best player in the first half.
Dream Shattered
In the second half, however, Nicky was unable to prevent the score from becoming 1-0. Cassandra Korhonen scored on a counterattack. PSV Women thus faced a difficult task, but they didn’t give up. Shortly after conceding the goal, Princess fired a shot just wide. Liz tried her luck from long range, but to no avail at that point. In the 62nd minute, things changed. After some impressive combination play and a few dribbles, Liz brought PSV back into contention for the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
The pace picked up dramatically for PSV, which dominated the game. But Køge remained dangerous on the counterattack. Janice Cayman prevented another goal in the 75th minute with a fantastic tackle. Meanwhile, time was running out. The team needed just one chance, and it came. Once again, it was Liz Rijsbergen; once again, she took a shot, but this time, it was just off the mark—the Champions League dream was over.
Scorerun
47’ Korhonen 1-0 (2-0)
62’ Rijsbergen 1-1 (2-1)
Lineup
Evrard, Cayman, Rutgers (Altena), Hendriks, Thrige; Renfurm (Bross), Folkertsma, Jacobs (Funch); Rijsbergen, Ripa (Hickelsberger), Princess.