Difficult, but no less important. This is perhaps the best way to describe FC Emmen’s victory over Jong PSV. The big question afterwards was: what was in the Emmen’s tea?
It is now a repetitive story. FC Emmen is playing excellent football at times this season, but too often fails to decide the match early. The opponent keeps hope, insists and the match remains tense for an unnecessarily long time by Emmen standards. That has to be different, said coach Fred Grim in the dressing room in front of his players before the match with Jong PSV.
But that excellent football was hard to find in the initial phase. It was slow on the part of FC Emmen. Passes did not arrive and unnecessary loss of ball occurred. The space that was indeed in Jong PSV’s half was insufficiently used. Most noteworthy was the yellow card that Mike te Wierik received for a fierce charge. As if the defender wanted to put his team on edge.
Opportunistic
The game did not get much better, but there were opportunities for FC Emmen. After more than 20 minutes, Piotr Parzyszek had the ball to shoot in after a poor back pass from an Eindhoven player, but the striker’s sights were not focused. Instead of simply sliding the ball into the corner, he found the leg of PSV goalie Niek Schiks. Disbelief descended from the stands onto the field.
On the other hand, it was thanks to Jan Hoekstra that FC Emmen kept its own goal clean. For example, the goalkeeper saved a shot from Emmanuel van de Blaak and saw Iggy Houben shoot narrowly wide. It was clear that Wil Boessen’s Jong PSV had no intention of entrenching themselves in their own half. In the spirit of the ‘great’ PSV, the game was played opportunistically.
Grim, who loudly and apparently irritatedly called his men to order several times before the break, converted his dissatisfaction into action during the break: the Amsterdammer victimized Piotr Parzyszek and Lucas Bernadou. In their place were Joey Konings and Jorrit Smeets. With that duo on the field, the match had to be turned around and that was not exactly without results, as it soon became apparent.
Perfect through ball
Whether it was due to the ingredients of the tea, a thunder speech or the substitutions: less than two minutes after the break it was a hit. FC Emmen, which had emerged from the dressing room in a remarkably opportunistic manner, saw the previously relatively invisible Desley Ubbbink give a perfect through ball to Rui Mendes. The Portuguese German did not hesitate and pushed the ball into the far corner.
The goal was a welcome boost in the increasingly bleak weather conditions. But just like the temperature, the level of the game also dropped again in the remainder of the second half. There were opportunities, including for the busy Mike te Wierik and substitute Konings, but FC Emmen also managed to keep things exciting for an unnecessarily long time against Jong PSV.
Did the match come too quickly after the victory over Helmond Sport three days ago? Was the battery not yet fully charged? According to coach Grim, it was simply “a bad game” for his team, he said afterwards. “We did not do what we agreed. The intensity was not good, the pressure was not high enough and the ball did not go to the right colour. Then it just becomes very annoying.”
Important points
Grim saw his team no longer capitalize on any opportunities after the opening goal. This also applied to the opponent, and so FC Emmen remained undefeated in competition for the sixth time in a row and again took three very important points. The Drenthe are now level with number two Roda JC, but have a lower goal difference. A visit to leader Willem II awaits on Friday.