Feyenoord show real fighting spirit

Sunday 26 October 2008

After four defeats in a row and being 2-0 down at home against Heerenveen after 50 minutes Feyenoord had two options: crumble and step into a real crisis or straighten their backs and fight back.

They chose to fight and backed by their fanatic home crowd went on to score a dramatic equalizer in the 90th minute.

The whole scene lasted a mere two seconds but it seemed as if time stood still when defender Kevin Hofland headed the ball back into the the penalty area.

Just until Michael Mols headed the ball backwards into the net and the stadium erupted into one long roar.

The crowd cheered so loudly that it was probably heard all over the country.

Defender André Bahia fell to the earth for sheer emotion and coach Gertjan Verbeek grimly clenched his fists while Mols was hugged to bits by his team mates on the byline.

Of course one could get cynical about the fact that a draw at home against Heerenveen was celebrated like a championship, while the team are still fifteenth in the league.

But fact of the matter is that Feyenoord fought back from a hopeless situation, supported by a crowd that never let down their team.

"You can say many things about this team, but not that they didn't fight," Verbeek said.

"The people in the stands saw that. They have supported us tremendously."

There is a big contrast with previous years, as it is clear that Verbeek has a lot more credit than his predecessors Bert van Marwijk and Erwin Koeman, in spite of the bad results.

The mood in South Rotterdam is one between meekness and confidence that it will all be all right.

The roles of Van Bronckhorst, Hofland and Makaay was crucial against Heerenveen, as it were those three experienced players who took the team by the hand at a moment when a big crisis was in the air.

Makaay's goal in the 69th minute was a perfect example.

The ball was some 17 meters from the goal the center forward resolutely positioned himself behind the ball.

"I will put this one in the back of the net," he seemed to say and then put it there with a fierce low drive.

The goal came after a first half in which Feyenoord's play was terrible.

Again seriously depleted by injuries Feyenoord seemed overwhelmed by the visitors, who went close twice before Henrique was allowed to open the score by sleeping Feyenoord defenders.

Shortly after the break Danijel Pranjic doubled the score and then Beerens had a massive chance to make it three.

But the winger missed and when Mols stirred up the crowd by looking for an incident the scale started swinging to the other side.

First Makaay pulled one back to make it 1-2 and then Feyenoord vigorously went looking for the equalizer.

Mols hit the cross bar but in the last minute he put it under the white metal after he beat Dingsdag and Mika Vayrynen.

Gertjan Verbeek praised Feyenoord's fans after the game.

"We showed a lot of resilience but that was also largely thanks to the crowd. When we were 2-0 down they kept supporting us. There was real interaction between the players and the crowd. They deserve a big compliment for that."

Heerenveen coach Trond Sollied acknowledged the role of the people in De Kuip: "The Feyenoord fans caused my players a lot of stress."