Feyenoord to KNVB Cup semifinals after rough night in Heerenveen
NOS Soccer–
Feyenoord are through to the semifinals of the KNVB Cup after a 1-0 win at sc Heerenveen. Mexican striker Santiago Giménez crowned himself matchwinner eleven minutes before time in a game with few major chances.
Thursday are the last two duels in the quarterfinals of the cup tournament: PSV-ADO Den Haag and De Graafschap-Ajax. Tuesday night the amateurs of Spakenburg won very surprisingly and spectacularly at FC Utrecht in the first quarterfinal.
Slot impressed with Sahraoui: ‘I thought he made ten pannas’
Coach Arne Slot acknowledged that the coin could have fallen the other way: “I saw many moments when Heerenveen became dangerous. Especially through that left-winger, Osame Sahraoui.”
“I asked him how many pannas he had made,” Slot continued. “He said three, but I thought ten myself. A very agile, good left winger. Well seen again from Heerenveen, such a young talent from Scandinavia.”
Slot after difficult cup win Feyenoord: ‘Critical of team, but also compliments’
Despite Feyenoord’s play, the semi-final place in the KNVB Cup obviously pleased Slot: “As a player, that’s a nice match to play, but it’s also a nice match to coach. We do have a busy schedule, but matches like that also give energy.”
Bright start Heerenveen
In the Eredivisie, Feyenoord is on top, Heerenveen is leading the right-hand row, tenth in other words. That difference was not noticeable in the Abe Lenstra Stadium at first.
Heerenveen put pressure early and aggressively and had the ball more than Feyenoord. In the fifth minute that led to the first chance of the match, a shot by Sydney van Hooijdonk was caught by Feyenoord goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther.
Feyenoord, who started in the same formation as in Sunday’s 4-2 Premier League game with Fortuna Sittard, got a better grip on the game after that, although it did not create any real chances. The first Feyenoord shot, from Alireza Jahanbakhsh in the nineteenth minute, sailed high over.
Great chance for Heerenveen
A great chance for Heerenveen arose after almost half an hour of play, after Feyenoord captain Orkun Kökcü stepped on the ball and tripped. Rami Al Hajj ran with the ball, played it off to Van Hooijdonk, who then hastily shot into the side netting one-on-one with Wellenreuther. It turned out to be the biggest chance before halftime.
After halftime the Rotterdammers started brighter, with an immediate header chance for striker Giménez. The Mexican’s effort went over. Despite the rebound, the second half continued where it left off: a brighter and stronger Heerenveen that put Feyenoord under high pressure.
A header by Quilindschy Hartman, after a long attack, was caught by Heerenveen goalkeeper Xavier Mous. He is still the replacement for the injured Andries Noppert.
For a moment the teams seemed to be gearing up for an extension, until Giménez slid the ball under Mous eleven minutes before time. The striker was played into the box by Danilo after a beautiful combination that also involved Jahanbakhsh: 0-1.
Whereas Heerenveen often had the upper hand before the 1-0, the Frisians failed to create a final offensive. Even substitutions accomplished nothing for coach Kees van Wonderen, which means the cup season is over for the Frisians.
