No wonder from Enschede: FC Twente does not save Conference League group stage | Dutch football

In the past, a club like FC Twente had had a great European season with three rounds. But with the entrance of the group stages, the knockout duels are only the preliminary work. Just like a year ago, FC Twente also stranded on the threshold after six matches. Stopped again by a club with very different means.

Last season, the team in Enschede was still close to extra time against Fiorentina, but on Thursday evening that was of course too much to ask after the 5-1 defeat in Istanbul. FC Twente fought for what it was worth and also played a more than creditable match despite the many absentees, but the damage from a week ago immediately turned out to be a total loss, as expected.

The duel in Enschede was exactly 1 minute and 15 seconds into the game when Ricky van Wolfswinkel was apparently so shocked by his enormous freedom that he ran the ball wide of the goal from close range. Such an early goal would of course have been the dream scenario for FC Twente. Incidentally, the flag went up with Van Wolfswinkel’s option, but the images showed that the attacker was not offside. It turned out not to be the only miss of the Italian arbitral trio, who had their hands full in the first half of the game that was too often stopped.

Irritations, violations, riots, affectation: the entire repertoire was visited by the visitors. Call it cunning, call it the laws of international football. A dubious leading role was played by the Turkish goalkeeper Ifran Can Egribayat, who turned out to be a bloodsucker first class from the first minute. Referee Fabio Maresca drew seven yellow cards in the first half alone (five for Fenerbahçe), but he let the keeper get away with it despite the provocative time-wasting.

In that theater of misery, the trick is to keep a cool head and FC Twente succeeded quite nicely. The battered home side fought for every yard, but at the end of most attacks just lacked purity and finesse. Trainer Joseph Oosting had previously appealed to the ambition of his players and he was not disappointed. The evening was extra special for Max Bruns, the young replacement for Mees Hilgers, who held up well in the duels with Edin Dzeko, the 37-year-old star who played the Champions League final in June.

The only chance for Fenerbahçe was before the break for an old acquaintance, Dusan Tadic, but he stranded on goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall. Tadic was there eleven years ago when FC Twente brushed away a 3-1 defeat against Bursaspor on exactly this day on one of the most heroic evenings in De Grolsch Veste. Then he wore the red. On Thursday evening he was mercilessly whistled at his substitution.

Full of enthusiasm and enthusiasm, FC Twente also attacked after the break. Steijn hit the post, Vlap did the same with a free kick and Van Wolfswinkel tapped the rebound just wide. The home team deserved the lead, but it was Fenerbahçe who opened the score twenty minutes before the end, from a penalty kick by Dzeko. The Turks got it after Robin Pröpper stopped an unprecedented power explosion from Norwegian substitute Joshua King with an unnecessary foul on the back line: 0-1.

The loss at home – only the second of this year – was unfortunate, but overall there was simply no more for FC Twente, regardless of the quality of Fenerbahçe. The applause from their own supporters afterwards was significant.

The audience appreciated Thursday night’s performance. The fact that the club had been dismantled too much in the duels with the Turkish superpower was evident from the occupation of the bench: there were only five field players, including the three youngsters Juliën Mesbahi, Mats Rots and Gijs Besselink. Fenerbahçe had double that number on the bench. On Friday it will become clear whether FC Twente will get some more meat on their bones in addition to the arrival of Mitchell van Bergen and Carel Eiting.