For the neutral spectator it was a great match between PSV and FC Twente. But after the 3-3 draw, the title no longer seems feasible for the people of Eindhoven. Nevertheless, trainer Roger Schmidt remains combative and still believes in the championship. In addition, he was surprisingly mild to his team.
“It was difficult and it still is,” said Schmidt when asked about the chances in the title race. “It is certainly not impossible to become champion. Everything is still possible.”
But anyone who takes a realistic look at the position and the remaining program of Ajax and PSV will quickly conclude that the team from Amsterdam will probably no longer give this away. And so Schmidt’s team gave up the title with three goals in the first half hour. Yet the German trainer remained remarkably mild.
“You know you can’t always play well. My players are doing great this season. It is normal to have days like this. They fought and I am proud of that.”
Of course, Schmidt also saw that the first half hour was bad, although he put that into perspective quite quickly. “We were not a team. Eleven individuals were on the field. Tactically we were not strong. But that can happen, we are not a machine.”
Schmidt continued his story by conjuring up a glass of water. “You can think in two ways. The glass is half full or half empty. You can look at this match in two ways.”
Who especially fell through the ice again on Saturday evening was Joël Drommel. The goalkeeper was conspicuously wrong with the 1-0 and could also have prevented the 2-0. But Schmidt was also nice to the PSV goalie. “It was a special match for him. That boy was under a lot of pressure. Everyone looked at him. He was indeed not great today. It wasn’t his best game. But he wasn’t the only one who had a bad day.”
All in all, it was a disappointing evening for PSV. And those who listened carefully to Schmidt could hear that he knew very well that the title is normally no longer in the picture. “A draw at Twente is a great result, just not good enough.”