The topper against Cortgene/JOVZ B1 was scheduled this league round. A loaded match between the two sole title contenders. PSV had the advantage in this battle, because where the B2 was still without a point loss, Cortgene/JOVZ had a draw and a loss. So a win in Zeeland would bring PSV very close to the title.
Hence Cortgene/JOVZ pulled out all the stops to upset PSV. They even went so far as to close off the A58 past Roosendal this weekend so that the bus had to travel to just about every island in Zeeland.....At last arrived in Cortgene, it turned out that the match would start later. Logistically, things didn't quite go smoothly, and we had to wait until the match between the D1s of Cortgene/JOVZ and (yes) PSV was over. This match ended in a 1-0 victory for the home team. So we were warned!
Under the majestic spring sunshine, hardly any wind at all, even by Zeeland standards, the two teams entered the hard, bumpy main field. PSV was forced to start with 3 players from the C1. Nevertheless, the initial phase was for PSV. This led to some chances and opportunities for Zakaria Bakkali, Junior Lima dos Santos and Clint Leemans. Halfway through the first half, JOVZ created their first chance. A cross from the left was taken directly on the slipper by their right-wing striker from the air. However, the beautiful volley was even more beautifully parried by goalkeeper Jesse Bertrams via a gliding dive. This chance gave Cortgene/JOVZ a boost. Whereas PSV had more ball possession up to that point, the match became more balanced. However, neither team created any clear-cut chances. PSV did threaten once before halftime when Junior went in from the right and fired a cannonball from over 20 meters. The goalkeeper from Zeeland was just able to save with his fingertips. Cortgene/JOVZ also had an opportunity before halftime when two players suddenly appeared in front of Jesse. Fortunately Jesse was able to take good and decisive action.
Immediately after halftime the Zeeland opponent took control of the game. In the 5th minute PSV got away well when a cross was headed in against the wall. Jesse had no chance, but fortunately the ball did not go into the goal. Not much later the goal was scored. Jesse did not handle the ball well and the ensuing chance was initially hit against the underside of the crossbar. However, the rebound was blamelessly shot in: 1-0 for Cortgene/JOVZ. After this opening goal, the game started with all the trimmings. Lots of duels, lots of speed, lots of commotion. First Olivier Rommens received a (justified) yellow card for coming in with his leg too high. Then a player of Cortgene/JOVZ for rough play. PSV tried to get the equalizer on the board, but played too hastily and sometimes without consultation. In addition, too many players did not reach their level. And it seemed that PSV would only find the goal via a fluke goal, or via a standard situation. Because football wise we could not break open the good organization at the back. Clint was close to an equalizer in the 65th minute via a nice free kick. Here again a player of Cortgene/JOVZ got yellow for kicking the ball away. Not much later there was much commotion inside and along the line. A PSV corner kick from the left ended up in the goal mouth, and a hand knocked the ball away on the goal line. The question, however, was "whose hand was it?" According to the PSV players, it was a player's hand, but the referee had not detected it. With 10 minutes left to play, PSV had another great opportunity. A free kick was pumped into the 16 by Joep van Vroenhoven, where Andreas Hoelgebaum Pereira headed the ball hard at goal. The goalkeeper saved the ball. PSV played all or nothing the last minutes, even goalkeeper Jesse Bertrams regularly went into the goal area of his Zeeland counterpart. However, this did not lead to the desired result. Indeed, it was that Cortgene/JOVZ badly played off the counter. In the final minute, Olivier received his 2nd yellow card of the match after saying something according to the referee. In injury time, PSV was still close to the equalizer. Vinnie Vermeer got through to the back line, and wanted to put the ball wide, but a Zeeland toe prevented it from getting to the feet of incoming Eindhoven players.
So the result for the D1 was the same for us after all: we too could return to Eindhoven with a 1-0 defeat. Given the odds, a draw would have been deserved. Purely looking at the absolute will to win, the 3 points rightly went to Cortgene/JOVZ.
Consequence of the first points loss for PSV is that they are still on top in points loss. And as a great footballer once said, "every disadvantage has its advantage". Because if we win the next 4 games, and Cortgene/JOVZ as well, then the return on Queen's Day will be the championship game for PSV. Because if we win the same Cortgene/JOVZ then, the title is a fact. And what could be better than winning the title in a direct match against a competitor? But then we have to finish the next matches successfully.