After sizzling final afternoon in two stadiums, FC Twente becomes national champion

For almost an hour and a half, PSV was allowed to imagine itself from the Azerion Vrouwen Eredivisie. But again it was not possible to conquer the national title for the first time in history. Again, because the team from Eindhoven headed for the championship in the spring of 2020 in the spring of 2020, but that season was stopped by the Coronalockdown.

Including the peace, PSV will be virtually at the top of the provisional final classification on Saturday afternoon. From the moment that competitor FC Twente lags behind AZ in the fifth minute of the last round of play, until the young PSV defender Emma Frijns shoots the ball in his own goal in the 78th minute and therefore becomes 2-2 against Feyenoord.

At that time it is also 2–2 in Enschede and with an equal result, FC Twente could again call itself champion.

That is also the case as in the last seven minutes of both games, both Twente and PSV come to 3-2. At the last whistle in the Grolsch Veste, which sounds two minutes earlier than that in Eindhoven, it is clear: the FC Twente women win the national title for the tenth time, PSV is second.

PSV at the front runners

The ending of the highest football competition in women’s football is even more exciting on paper than that of the Eredivisie among the men – where PSV defends one point lead against Ajax this Sunday. Since 2013, FC Twente and Ajax have dominated women’s football in the Netherlands, but this season PSV has explicitly joined the front runners.

Both teams have 54 points when entering the last round of play, but FC Twente has a goal difference that is 5 goals better. So it comes to the very last match in the competition: FC Twente at home against AZ, PSV at home against Feyenoord.

The supporters of FC Twente jump up from their seats when striker Jaimy Ravensbergen scores her third goal of the game. With that she not only completes a hat trick, but she also gives her team the lead. The spectators shout to the size of the music. The cap of a Twente supporter who is completely dressed in the red colors of his team moves up and down while he happily claps in his hands.

Again it is Ravensbergen who took the team of trainer Joran Pot by the hand. With a hat trick, she knows how to make up for the painfully rapid backlog of 2-0 almost on her own. The 24-year-old attacker has become top scorer of the competition with 24 goals. “I will not soon forget this championship,” says Ravensbergen after the game with glittering eyes. Soon after, she emphasizes how important the team was for her goals: “If I don’t get those balls, I don’t shoot them.”

Difficult start

The afternoon starts difficult for the Twente team. Within ten minutes, FC Twente is already looking at a 0-2 deficit. Ravensbergen provides the only Twente goal in the first half. As a result, according to the top scorer, the team goes into peace with a ‘more positive feeling’.

In the break, the FC Twente trainer did not opt ​​for a thunder, but for a positive approach. With the team there was a lot of tension this competition, according to Pot. “It does not help to crack them. Giving confidence and emphasize what we have in qualities, works very well with this group.”

His approach is bearing fruit in the second half. The Enschede women eventually win 3-2 from AZ-the championship is a fact. Staff, trainers and spare players storm up the field and fall into each other’s arms. Flowers and bottles of champagne appear on the field, while the players use the party by singing loudly with ‘Sweet Caroline’.

Own star

With this tenth title, FC Twente is the first women’s team in the Netherlands to wear a star on the shirt. The club chose to separately recognize the performance of the women’s team, which must now also be done according to the rules of the KNVB. This means it differs from Ajax, where the women play with three stars on the shirt – referring to the 36 championships of the men’s team.

According to Ravensbergen, his own star for the women of FC Twente is also good for women’s football, because it says that it is “more and more on the map”. Pot also thinks it “fantastic that this happens in women’s football”.

Successful last weeks

Trainer Joran Pot, who leaves after this season, closes his period at FC Twente with a unique trilogy: the national title, the KNVB cup and the Supercup. The team also reached the group stage of the UEFA Women’s Champions League for the first time.

The pressure of this combination ensured that Twente entered the winter break as number four, which according to Pot was because “the freshness was missing after those heavy Champions League matches”. According to him, that is “really a different level, which many girls were not yet used to.”

In the spring, the team recovers strongly and takes the lead in the battle for the national title. “It is a huge reward for everyone that we are now the national champion for the tenth time,” said Pot.

Philips Stadium Lean filled

For PSV, the frustration is great if the referee flutes the match around ten to four. In the final minutes of the competition, the team of trainer Roeland ten Berge could only hope that AZ in Enschede scores an equalizer. That doesn’t happen. The fully struggling players plop and Masse down on the turf in the lean filled Philips Stadium – only 10 percent of the 35,000 seats are occupied for the championship match. Again the mission that the club started a few years ago is not accomplished. ‘Competing for the big prizes’ was that, but the champion scale is not there yet. Last week the club also lost the final for the KNVB cup, against the same sporty arch-rival FC Twente.

Yet afterwards the players in the catacombs are proud of their performance. “We did what we could do,” says midfielder Nina Nijstad. “And although we have had many changes in the team, due to injuries and a flu wave in January, we achieved the most points in PSV history this season.” The second place in the competition also gives the right to the preliminary round of the Champions League – that too was one of the objectives for this season.

There will be a second chance at a consolation prize next week. On Wednesday and Saturday, the numbers one to four in extra competition still play for the Eredivisie Cup. PSV has to get back to Ajax again on Wednesday evening, FC Twente meets FC Utrecht at home.

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