Due to the absence of Etienne Vaessen and reserve goalkeeper Jeroen Houwen, Mark Spenkelink was under the bar for the second time against Feyenoord at RKC Waalwijk. The 27-year-old goalkeeper played very well on Saturday evening, but he could not prevent the Rotterdam team from winning 1-2 in Waalwijk.
The fact that RKC Waalwijk took the lead after 25 minutes was against the odds. It was Feyenoord that had missed a number of big opportunities before that. The 1-0 was a beautiful goal by Denilho Cleonise, who outpaced the Rotterdam defense at speed and ultimately outpaced goalkeeper Justin Bijlow.
Within ten minutes, Feyenoord leveled the score through Quinten Timber. Shortly after the equalizer, Yassin Oukili had a great chance to make it 2-1. Face to face with Bijlow, he pushed the ball wide of the goal.
Failed panenka
The last five minutes before half-time were mainly holding back for coach Henk Fraser’s team. Top scorer Santiago Gimenez was closest to a Rotterdam lead. First he shot wide, then he wasted a Panenka penalty by shooting over. During the penalty moment, RKC defender Shawn Adewoye had received a red card for knocking down an opponent who had broken through.
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Feyenoord is hunting
The ten Brabanders were no match for the title candidate in the second half. Spenkelink prevented the 1-2 score several times with great saves, but in the 64th minute he was no match for the effort of right back Bart Nieuwkoop. In the last half hour, Feyenoord continued to hunt for the final decision, but the goal did not come. As a result, it remained exciting in the Mandemakers Stadium, despite the fact that RKC Waalwijk was no longer able to become really dangerous.
Due to the defeat, RKC Waalwijk occupies fourteenth place in the Eredivisie.