The report

The stakes were high for our guests from Rotterdam. This because only a win would give the club from Rotterdam a chance to finish among the first eight. For PSV O19 it was important to continue the good series and finish second in this half of the competition.

Mark van Bommel has to make some adjustments in his lineup for various reasons, but nothing of that shows during the match. The boys show that PSV O19 has a wide selection with a lot of quality. In the 20th minute it is Bertalan Kun who with a hard shot on the goalkeeper gives the first signal that it will be a very tough afternoon for Sparta. It takes until the 38th minute, however, before PSV O19 register the field advantage on the scoreboard. Through a nice attack over four drives, with first a combination between Kun and Cody Gapko. They found the free Zakaria Aboukhlal in the penalty area, who put the ball ready for Amar Catic, who in turn fired it into the short corner. Just before half-time, Gapko, after a nice cross from Justin Lonwijk, got an ideal opportunity to extend the lead with a header. But the Sparta goalkeeper tapped the ball into a corner, so PSV O19 went to rest with only a 1-0 lead.

After halftime, it is again one-way traffic. After a hard shot by Aboukhlal, which was badly handled by the Sparta goalkeeper, Amar Catic tapped in his second goal of the afternoon in 53rd minute. Sparta is close to a goal just under ten minutes later via a free kick, only the ball is caught superbly out of the top corner by PSV goalie Youri Roulaux. In the 71st minute, it is Leandro Fernandes who reaches the free Gapko on the left with a great cross pass. With a feint he sends his fellow player into the woods and slides the ball in with the right: 3-0. Out of nowhere, but with a beautiful goal, the guests bring the score to 3-1 via a volley. But PSV recovered immediately. Aboukhlal scores after a watched Andrew Mendonca in the 88th minute, bringing the final score to 4-1.

With this victory, PSV O19 goes into the winter break with a good feeling. The program for 2018 is not known at this time, as not all matches have been played yet.

Lineup PSV O19: Youri Roulaux, Tijn Daverveld, Jordan Teze, Koen Oostenbrink, Gregory Kuisch, Leandro Fernandes, Zakaria Aboukhlal, Justin Lonwijk (c) (71, Andrew Mendonca), Amar Catic, Bertalan Kun and Cody Gapko.

Photo report

View Paul Lenting's photo report here.