The expectation was that NEC – PSV would become a goal -rich match and that became. The Eindhoven team won a crazy duel in Nijmegen on Saturday evening 3-5. Both teams also missed many opportunities. At PSV Ricardo Pepi showed himself after a long time with two goals after his first base place. Debutant Myron Boadu also scored.
Peter Bosz opted for a surprising defense. NEC impressed with attacking football during the start of this season, but the PSV trainer only put Armando Obispo in the heart of the defense. Ryan Flamingo and Yarek Gasiorowski disappeared to the bank. Jerdy Schouten stood in midfield, but with the ball of NEC he dropped a line.
With his tactic, Bosz took a great risk, but in the initial phase it worked out well. After twelve minutes, PSV opened the score by Ricardo Pepi, who started in the base for the first time after his serious injury. The American was grateful to Schouten who delivered the ball to him.
The OBISPO experiment lasted less than half an hour, because then the defender had to go to the side with a main injury. Flamingo came in the field for the bad luck. A minute later it was already hit on the other side. Ruben van Bommel slipped along the slipping Brayann Pereira and then past goalkeeper Gonzalo Crettaz: 0-2.
Immediately after the kick -off the tension was back. Virgil Misidjan was in the right place to beat Kovar Kovar Keeper. To make the score running even crazier, a minute later the 1-3 was also against the ropes. And how. Joey Veerman was given the space to get out of and shot the ball around 25 meters away in the top corner. The pace was high for the last ten minutes and there were opportunities on both sides, but the stand no longer changed.
Anyone who thought the second half would go a bit quieter was wrong. Already after 18 seconds Tjaronn Chery was able to tap the second half, but Kovar kept his goal clean with a handsome reflex. The goal in the first half of Veerman was of great beauty, the assist of Ivan Perisic after 49 minutes that was too. The Kroaat gave a perfect pass on the head of Pepi, who headed: 1-4. That the striker is fit again is good news with a view to the Champions League match against Union Saint-Gilloise next Tuesday evening.
Despite the 1-4 deficit, NEC did not give up. Full of gas, the men of coach Dick Schreuder went hunting for the 2-4. It didn’t take a long time before the weather became a bit exciting, because the Youssef El Kachati, who came over from Telstar, crashed into hard.
When the storm lay down, Bosz made two players debut for PSV. Myron Boadu came for the chattered Pepi, Anass Salah-Eddine replaced Kiliann Sildillia. And there the storm was again and soon the seventh goal of the evening. The offensive left back Deveron Fonville from NEC steamed up and operated Chery: 3-4.
Also this time it was not long before a new PSV goal fell. Boadu had a dream debut in PSV service by Koppen from a corner. It could have been an unforgettable evening before the rush when he came back to the goal shortly thereafter, but this time the goalkeeper brought salvation.
The game waved up and down and the audience in the Goffert stadium was never bored. Just before time it could have become much more exciting when NEC received a penalty. Chery, however, popped on the bar from eleven meters. Despite the defeat, NEC fans gave their team a standing ovation afterwards, because they made it a wonderful football evening with PSV.