The relief was great in the Philips Stadium in Eindhoven on Sunday afternoon. PSV got away well in the competition match with RKC thanks to a contested penalty deep into injury time. Yet the PSV club icons Willy and René van de Kerkhof speak of justice.
“It was very, very poor from PSV”, René sighed on Monday morning in the radio program ‘WAKKER!’ on Omroep Brabant. “A bit unworthy of PSV. The game was not to be seen. I can’t name a player who was in shape on Sunday, so you get away well in the last minute. But I had given that penalty too! It was just Dangerous play by Hans Mulder in the penalty area. There is only one penalty: a penalty.”
“RKC owed that seven minutes of extra playing time to itself.”
Brother Willy agrees with him. “Yes, this was one hundred percent a bargain. There is nothing to argue with,” said the midfielder of yesteryear, who pointed out even more positive points. “For the first time in this football season, we have a clean sheet, we kept the zero. We have to build on that.”
Willy also thought PSV’s difficult victory was well deserved. According to him, the team of coach Ruud van Nistelrooij was supreme, despite the mediocre game. “But RKC just played well, according to the possibilities. Smart defensive and time-stretching. That RKC keeper, Etiënne Vaessen, took it very easy. RKC had that seven minutes of extra playing time to blame. So I am at peace with it. With us: won 1-0, three points in the bag. Winning a bad game, also fine. And further!”
“Something really has to happen.”
At the start of this football season, PSV made an impression with the elimination of AS Monaco in the preliminary round for the Champions League and goal-rich victories over FC Emmen, Go Ahead Eagles and Excelsior. But the last few weeks seems to be a bit out of the team of trainer Ruud van Nistelrooij.
“That is not a distorted picture, no”, René agreed. “PSV is just playing a lot less football at the moment than in the beginning. Van Nistelrooij says we are making steps. Well, I think steps back at the moment. It’s not easy to see, something will really have to happen. now two crucial games on the program: Thursday, if it goes through, against Arsenal in the Europa League and on Sunday against Feyenoord. Those are two top games. Then you have to look good. Maybe these matches can turn things around.”
“You can see how far you are as a team against Feyenoord and Arsenal.”
Willy agrees with him. “These are two games that matter. Then you can see how far you are as a team. I am confident that PSV will slowly but surely play the game that we all like to see.”
PSV occupies third place in the Eredivisie after the victory over RKC – partly thanks to the draw at AZ-FC Twente. One point from Feyenoord and three from leader Ajax. RKC is twelfth with six points from six games.
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