Big win for the O15

On a chilly Tuesday afternoon, PSV's O15 faced Excelsior. Coincidentally also the last opponent when the team of trainers Vincent Heilmann and Anthony Lurling left Rotterdam with a big 0-5 victory at the end of November.

For both teams there was basically nothing more at stake. PSV had already qualified for the Champions Pool after the winter break. And for Excelsior, relegation to a lower division was a fact.

The difference in strength, despite the patches of fog, was clearly visible from minute one. PSV dominated, had (very) much of the ball and the game played mainly in the Rotterdam half. PSV frequently came through on the wings, and captain Jason van Duiven was unlucky only to hit the post after a cross from Elvic Jager. It took a while for the goal to be found. Bram Rovers had a nice, long pass in its legs in the 13th minute that Jason shot in beautifully: 1-0. Two minutes later Jason almost doubled the score in almost identical fashion. Only this time the long pass came from Joëll Gill'ard. This time, however, his shot went wide. After Julian Kwaaitaal missed an opportunity to make it 2-0, Excelsior came alongside in the 24th minute. A free kick was sent dangerously into the penalty area, where a Rotterdam player appeared dangerously close to goalkeeper Tijn Smolenaars. Brian van den Boogaard was able to save the ball with a tackle, but the ball was shot from about 20 meters via the well-known swab. For a moment PSV seemed a bit upset, but they recovered well and had a few more chances before half time. Brian was close to scoring 2-1 when his header was cleared out of the mouth of the goal. Still, PSV managed to take the lead into halftime. After Jason hit the goalkeeper's feet with a hard slide, the attack continued and Bram got another assist when his cross was headed in by Elvic: 2-1.

After halftime, the tempo dropped along with the temperature. As a result, Excelsior had a little more ball possession than before halftime and occasionally came through dangerously. But if that was the case, Tijn did a good job and kept his goal clean. In the 50th minute Onesime Zimuangana decided the game. A good cross from Julian on the left flank was slipped in by Onesime. Five minutes later it was 4-1 when Elvic appreciated a long ball and calmly slid the ball past the goalkeeper. With ten minutes left to play, Onesime thought he could extend the score further after a cross from Elvic via a high kick, but unfortunately that party did not go ahead. In the closing stages Excelsior had another opportunity when the defense slackened a bit, but again Tijn Smolenaars was alert. Just before the final whistle Elvic made it 5-1. Khaled Razak slalomed through the Excelsior defense in the penalty area and was only stopped at the very last moment. The ball ended up at the feet of Elvic, who easily scored the 5-1.

A deserved and ample victory that allows PSV to take spot 4 in the league table, with next Saturday's away game against No. 5 Vitesse on the schedule.

Setup:
Tijn Smolenaars; Bram Rovers (76/ Tim van den Heuvel), Brian van den Boogaard (48/ Reda El Meliani), Joëll Gill'ard, Renzo Tytens; Tijn Vergeldt (52/ Arthur Piedfort), Tim van den Heuvel (60/ Enzo Geerts), Emir Bars (40/ Onesime Zimuangana); Elvic Jager, Jason van Duiven (c) (66/ Merijn van de Wiel), Julian Kwaaitaal (60/ Khaled Razak).

Yellow card: Jason van Duiven