Feyenoord reached the quarterfinals of the KNVB Cup on Wednesday evening after a thrilling match. The team from Rotterdam defeated NEC via penalties, after the match in De Kuip had ended in 4-4 after extra time. Earlier in the evening, PSV also qualified for the quarterfinals by beating FC Emmen 3-1.
For a long time it looked as if NEC would cause a stunt because the team from Nijmegen took a 2-0 lead in the first half. The first goal came in the 33rd minute, after left back Calvin Verdonk managed to shoot the ball between the posts via Feyenoord keeper Timon Wellenreuther after a great pass from Oussama Tannane. Just before the half-time signal, the team from Nijmegen extended their lead with a goal from Pedro Marques.
Until well into the second half, the team from Rotterdam failed to score, until NEC defender Philippe Sandler got the ball shot against his arm in the penalty area. It earned him a red card and Feyenoord a penalty, which Orkun Kokcü managed to use. Not much later it was hit again for the team from Rotterdam. Igor Paixã brought Feyenoord level deep into injury time.
For a moment it seemed as if an extension could still be avoided after the team from Rotterdam heavily increased the pressure on the Nijmegen goal. But the outstanding goalkeeper, who made no fewer than 23 saves in the match, Mattijs Branderhorst did not budge. It was overtime for both teams.
Extension
The spectacle really erupted in extra time. Jordy Bruijn managed to score for NEC quite early on, so that the team from Nijmegen led 3-2. But the lead was short-lived: about two minutes later Feyenoord managed to equalize again. This time by a goal from Santiago Giménez, who scored with a header.
For a long time it looked like both teams would not be able to score again. But just before the end of extra time, the team from Rotterdam still managed to take the lead. Javairo Dilrosun made the fourth for Feyenoord and seemed to have decided the game. With four minutes to go it seemed to be over for NEC, but the team from Nijmegen managed to score even with ten men. After a score of 4-4, the game had to be decided with penalties.
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During the penalty series, Feyenoord keeper Timon Wellenreuther was the only one to stop a penalty kick, that of Ilias Bronkhorst. Paixão then shot Feyenoord with the decisive penalty to the quarter finals of the KNVB Cup. Feyenoord managed to shoot no fewer than fifty times on target during the entire match. Of those fifty, 27 were on target.
PSV Emmen
Earlier in the evening, PSV was not surprised again by FC Emmen. Two weeks ago, the team from Emmen caused a stunt by beating PSV 1-0 at home. This time, however, the team from Eindhoven was a size too big for Emmen, who lost 3-1 in the quarterfinals.
PSV took a 2-0 lead within fifteen minutes, after which the game seemed to be over quickly. Just before half-time, however, Emmen managed to score the tying goal, so that the match seemed to become exciting for a while due to unnecessary mistakes by PSV, but the team from Emmen no longer became a real threat. Fifteen minutes before the final whistle, Luuk de Jong dealt the final blow by making it 3-1.