1/2 Nigel Bertrams positive after small defeat: ‘We may be the moral winner’
FC Eindhoven lost in The Hague on Tuesday in the first of two games in the semi-finals of the play-offs for promotion. The team of trainer Rob Penders lost 2-1 against ADO Den Haag. This gives the team every chance to reach the final of the play-offs on Saturday at home.
FC Eindhoven seemed to be doing itself a disservice in The Hague. It was certainly no less than the opponent, but Penders’ team forgot to use the space and the opportunities it got in the first half.
After just six minutes, the Eindhoven team had two huge chances to score in The Hague. Charles-Andreas Brym came face to face with Alessandro Damen. The young Canadian tried to score with a controlled shot, but it was the ADO goalie who saved the winger’s effort with his foot. From the corner that followed, Damen reacted well to a header by Jort van der Sande.
Even after those chances, FC Eindhoven continued to have the better of the game, but it was ADO Den Haag that scored 1-0 after fifteen minutes. The visitors were on the field with ten men at the time, because Matthias Verreth had left the field injured and his replacement Jens van Son had not yet entered the field. ADO made use of the numerical majority via Dhoraso Klas, who left goalkeeper Nigel Bertrams without a chance after a combination with Thomas Verheydt: 1-0.
Fifteen minutes later, Verheydt made it 2-0 himself. Boy Kemper hurled the ball from halfway through the half of FC Eindhoven. Captain Mawouna Amevor seemed to misjudge the pass completely. He first took a step back, while Verheydt was just going towards the ball. Amevor couldn’t even take the header anymore and saw how Verheydt gave Betrams no chance with a pebble-hard and well-placed header.
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FC Eindhoven then went looking for the equalizer, but it did not go much further than a few shot attempts by Brym and Joey Sleegers. Until substitute Justin Ogenia was tapped in the penalty area by Herve Matthys more than fifteen minutes before the end. Referee Jochem Kamphuis pointed to the spot, Sleegers then knew what to do with the opportunity. The most important player of the Eindhoven team remained calm face to face with Damen and pushed in the 2-1.
A few minutes after his first goal, Sleegers was close to scoring a second. He flipped the ball over Damen, but saw his effort cleared by Jamal Amofa just before the goal line. In the final phase you saw both teams limping in two minds. FC Eindhoven went looking for the equalizer, without opening the doors wide in the back. ADO wanted to go for a third goal, but at the same time cherished the 2-1 lead. As a result, there were no great opportunities in the last minutes and the game ended in a small victory for the home team.
Due to the narrow defeat, FC Eindhoven has a clear and certainly not impossible task on Saturday in its own Jan Louwers Stadium: win against ADO Den Haag. If the Eindhoven players do that with more than a goal difference, Heracles Almelo or Excelsior wait in the final.
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