In the very first minute of this match we were treated to a PSV goal. Raphael reacted alertly to an out-of-bounds mistake and shot the ball in strongly with the outside right. Was it the reaction to last week's lost game? Could this be an omen for the course of the match? It was certainly the beginning of an exciting match where the preponderance was sometimes on the PSV side and sometimes on the German side and where an equal number of goals at the end of the match would have been a "fair" final score.
But things turned out differently. After fifteen minutes we were looking at a 1-3 deficit.
Although PSV missed two good chances in the first ten minutes, Cody shot just wide and Roland just over, it was the typical German counter that hit the nets. Surprisingly dangerous, the striker came forward from behind the defensive line to pass goalkeeper Stan.
PSV did not give up and through a cross from Cody, Ruud was put in position. According to the linesman, however, he was offside. Immediately after, Aken again brought the ball quickly and surely into the feet of the number nine, who again outran our defense and scored sharply in the far right corner. PSV struggled mentally for a while and the ascendancy slowly but surely moved towards Germany. Despite two strong breakouts by Stan and a nice block by Armando, we still had to take the third. A debatable one, though. For the alleged foul of James who pulled up with the ball to midfield was not whistled, the number nine went on the run again while our central defender in midfield was on the ground injured. The defenders Jordan, Luc and Armando rushed back, but could not prevent this super fast breakout (maybe here we missed our TGV Steven loaned to the D2).
PSV slowly got back on their feet. The defense recovered and the sparse attacks became more frequent and dangerous. Roland tried to head a free kick high into the net, but shot too high and James' effort on Raphael's corner also went over. The rest of the first half took place mainly in midfield, where there was a lot of fighting going on. It came down to strength, agility and condition. And PSV was no exception.
Just before halftime Luc parried an Aachen breakthrough by kicking the ball away neatly. Luckily, because a 1-3 deficit can still be made up.
As is often the case, PSV played a much stronger second half. In the first few minutes, a tangle ball came to the feet of Hus who immediately cleverly passed the ball to Jordan who then played it to the free Cody. Unfortunately the bar got in the way of our captain. Shortly afterwards Björn took the ball on the slipper from a great distance, but this ball also went over.
Coach Williamson coached positively as always and complimented the effort and actions of the boys. His instructions on team play and organization on the field had apparently been taken to heart by the boys as well, as the 2-3 was an example of this. Jordan took a free kick that was extended by Cody and ended up at the feet of Ruud. Ruud took a hard and successful shot. Shortly after, Huseyin managed to get the ball quickly to the rising Cody, but the goalkeeper stopped his effort with his fingertips.
Then the flying number nine from Aachen was brought back into position. This gimmick did not go through, however, as James was this striker's manhandler in the second half. Just before the sixteen he floored him. Unfortunately, the then taken, otherwise magnificent, free kick was cashed in: 2-4. PSV then let go of all their belts and after several frantic attempts from combinations by Roland, Hus, Cody and Armando, it was Jordan who processed a sharp cross from Robin flawlessly.
The last ten minutes became mile-eaters. The attacks went back and forth. From a nice combination Jordan got a shot but saw his effort blocked, whereupon Aken immediately launched an attack but Arne caught the ball firmly. Both teams got a corner in the last minutes, which led to dangerous situations on both sides. Typical of this evenly matched match.
The mental learning curve was high today, given the displeased faces of the players. However, if the D3 can continue this upward trend in team play, organization and effort, we can expect resounding victories soon.

Report with thanks to Ank Gakpo- van Bommel