Feyenoord crack a smile

Thursday 02 October 2008

Feyenoord have surprised friend and foe tonight by achieving a much deserved 1-2 victory over Swedish league leaders Kalmar FF in the first round of the UEFA Cup.

The victory was all the more impressive as Feyenoord had a long list of injuries and were forced to put four teenagers on the bench.

The victory means Feyenoord have qualified for the group phase of the UEFA Cup after the 0-1 defeat two weeks ago in Rotterdam.

The team of Gertjan Verbeek were totally unrecognizable compared to first leg two weeks ago.

Georginio Wijnaldum, Leroy Fer and Giovanni van Bronckhorst dominated in midfield and the defensive block around Kevin Hofland and Bahia gave away virtually nothing.

Just reaching center forward Roy Makaay appeared a problem for most of the match.

Feyenoord took the lead after 17 minutes when the Kalmar goal keeper Wastå made a terrible mistake on a fierce Wijnaldum shot.

The Dutch Cup winners kept the initiative and could have gone 2-0 up when Roy Makaay came face to face with Wastå, but the Swedish goal keeper could divert his effort into a corner.

Seconds before the half time whistle Kevin Hofland also went very close with a cracking header.

Within a minute after the break Kalmar equalized via Lasse Johansson, but the Swedes couldn't enjoy that goal very long, because five minutes later the Rotterdammers took the lead again when Fer headed home a Luigi Bruins corner.

Kalmar then slowly started taking the initiative, but only developed a sterile pressure and Feyenoord in the end stayed upright without giving away any real chances.

The best chances were for Feyenoord but they didn't get any further than a disallowed goal from Bahia.

The celebration after the final whistle was mainly one of immense relief with both the players and the supporters, as it is the first time in some years that the club could celebrate any European success.