The report

With the compliments of the crowd, parents and Sparta's coach, PSV returned to Brabant on Saturday afternoon. But despite good field play they had to leave the three points behind in Rotterdam. PSV O13 received a lot of praise for their play, but Sparta was better at finishing off the chances. This made it 2-1 for the proud leader from Rotterdam.

Again good field play by PSV today, but it is difficult to score. Today they had an opponent who had things in order at the back. But in matches between the numbers one and three, it is important to take advantage of the chances. There were certainly chances for PSV in the first half, Renzo Tytens having two unlucky attempts at goal. And Emir Bars who sees a good shot on goal stopped by a world-class save from the Sparta goalkeeper. In the ^23rd minute finally the deserved goal, Arthur Piedfort passes to Renzo, who enters the 16-meter area, the slider on goal falls in perfectly at the second post. The deserved 0-1. A few minutes later another Renzo who enters the 16-meter area. He is stopped with a hip swing. Everyone agrees, 100% penalty, except the referee on duty, who allows play to continue. In the last two minutes of the first half, Sparta gets their first chances of the match. A free kick from 18 meters straight in front of the goal goes wide via the outside post. And one minute later they were able to take advantage of a PSV player slipping and score. Thus, both teams rested with a 1-1 score.

Early in the second half, it is PSV that gets two great chances for a bigger lead within the first minute. The first is a good cross in which one just cannot reach with the head. The second chance a great shot from Emir Bars that hits the crossbar. PSV stays on top, but Sparta also shows some more initiative, although it remains a lot of long balls. In the ^38th minute, PSV goalkeeper Tijn Smolenaars was unable to punch the ball away from a Sparta cross. From the rebound, Sparta is able to score and continue with a 2-1 lead. The Sparta crowd hopes for the end they say, as they also realize that PSV's pressure is increasing considerably. But unfortunately PSV does not score, and so Sparta remains the proud leader in the league.

PSV clearly showed today that they are better on football than leaders Sparta, only the scoring lags and that is decisive for victory or loss. A remarkable fact is that all PSV players got at least 40 minutes of playing time. And at Sparta there are three players with only three minutes in their legs. This is a difference in conception of training, but can play a role in the final outcome of a match. But at PSV, training is more important than winning, so it can be said that they did good business today. All players played a great game against a good opponent with a lot of resistance. Next weekend no game for PSV, actually they were supposed to play Feyenoord, but they have tournament obligations.