Penalty miss by Gimenez proves costly as Feyenoord are now 12 points behind PSV
A missed penalty by Santiago Gimenez on Sunday against FC Twente at home proved costly as the Rotterdammers were held to a 0-0 draw. The draw means that the reigning champions are now 12 points behind PSV in the Eredivisie table.
Arne Slot gave Thomas van den Belt a rare start in midfield. Bart Nieuwkoop was also given another start at right back. Ramiz Zerrouki and Yankuba Minteh returned to the bench after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations. FC Twente started with Daan Rots as a striker. Manfred Ugalde is missing from the club from Enschede because he is about to sign a lucrative contract with Spartak Moscow. Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Sem Steijn were ill last week. Trainer Joseph Oosting has not included them in his lineup. He thinks they will be able to come off the bench.
Rots had his first chance after 16 minutes played. He received a chipped pass from Mathias Kjølø in the box, which he then volleyed wide of the goal.
The makeshift striker was also heavily involved in Twente’s other significant chance of the first half. The 22-year-old played a great through ball to Joshua Brenet, who was behind the defence. Brenet had Feyenoord’s whole half to run into, with Michel Vlap coming up beside him, making it a two-on-one situation with Feyenoord goalkeeper Justin Bijlow. But Vlap ran too far forward, meaning he was offside when Brenet played it across for the tap-in. It was a poor mistake to make by a player as experienced as Vlap.
The home side finished the half well with a few chances, falling to Igor Paixao and David Hancko. Their finishes went wide of the goal.
Slot’s side could not have made a better start to the second half, winning a penalty in the first 30 seconds. Santiago Gimenez was pushed in the back by FC Twente captain Robin Propper before Quinten Timber was also tackled by Michal Sadilek. Gimenez took the pen and saw it saved by Lars Unnerstall. The rebound fell to Hancko, whose effort was also stopped by the German.
Twente offered very little attacking threat in the second half, giving Feyenoord the space to attack. It was Hancko again providing the danger, which led to the home side's most significant chance of the match's final stages. The Slovakian defender came forward with the ball before playing a one-two with Mats Wieffer. His shot was pulled wide after he cut inside on the defender.
It was a point gained for FC Twente, who are now three points ahead of AZ Alkmaar and four points ahead of Ajax. Feyenoord is six points ahead of the Tukkers, with the gap to PSV looking insurmountable.
