Feyenoord beat NAC Breda and have a positive ending
to a disastrous year
Friday 26 December 2008
In an uneventful match Feyenoord
beat NAC Breda 3-1 on Friday to end the worst year in
the club's history with the first victory in a month.
It meant the club at least go into
the winter break with something of a positive feeling
after their centennial year 2008 brought them a number
of negative records.
One of them was breaking the record
for the most defeats in a year.
So far the disaster years 1989
and 1957 had topped the list with league 14 defeats,
but last week's loss at the hands of PSV was number
15 of 2008.
It was of course worth a lot to
the Rotterdammers to not add a 16th and with three key
players out with a suspension on top of the 10 already
injured Feyenoord's chances seemed bleak against the
number 5 in the Eredivisie.
But ranking doesn't always express
the strength of a team because after a good start to
the season NAC Breda lost three of their last four games
and today in De Kuip again did not show just why they
are so high up in the table.
Feyenoord started the game with
only two players in the starting lineup who were intended
to be regulars at the start of the season.
All others have become regulars
over the past few months due to the long list of injuries
and some of those had been told to look for another
club at the start of the season.
The motley crew was completed with
an 18-year-old left back and a 39-year-old stand-in
goal keeper and two.
On the bench were only teenagers.
However Feyenoord played well organized
and although they didn't create much they were never
in any danger either.
The match was decided in the first
half by a wonder goal from Diego Biseswar who curled
a long shot from 30 meters out over the surprised Jelle
Ten Rouwelaar and by a great ball into the box from
Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
His cross found Leroy Fer on the
edge of offside after which the young midfielder showed
great composure by heading the ball across goal into
the far corner.
Feyenoord never got into trouble
in the first half although they could have been when
the referee had seen Andwele Slory's nasty foul on Kwakman,
for which the forward would have definitely seen a red
card.
Instead Feyenoord almost scored
a third from Slory's foul and the striker was allowed
to continue.
To make an end to all doubt the
home team got the help from NAC keeper Ten Rouwelaar
who's howler on an easy long shot from Fer gave Feyenoord
a 3-0 lead.
NAC then pushed all they had forward
in the last half hour but that wasn't enough to seriously
threaten the Feyenoord defense, well led by Timothy
de Rijck and Theo Lucius.
The visitors did get a consolation
goal, but in the 86th minute it was too little, too
late.
Feyenoord-NAC Breda 3-1
1-0 33' D. Biseswar
2-0 44' L. Fer
3-0 63' L. Fer
3-1 86' M. Amoah
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