Pressure mounts on Feyenoord manager after draw with Willem II; Utrecht also fail to win
Pressure is mounting on Feyenoord manager Brian Priske. The Rotterdammers failed to beat Willem II on Saturday, leaving them in fourth position with a nine-point gap to second-placed Ajax. The match ended in 1-1.
Feyenoord took the lead in injury time of what had been a dull first half in the Koning Willem-II Stadion. Ramiz Zerrouki’s header into the box deflected into the path of Igor Paixao, who converted the opportunity with an element of fortune.
Paixao had the biggest chance of the second half before the equalizer. The Brazilian smashed the effort hard towards the goal, but it was saved by Thomas Didillon in the Willem II goal.
The home team had not created a single chance in the second, and yet, all of a sudden, they were level. A cross was knocked out by a Feyenoord defender into the path of Jesse Bosch, who unleashed a pile driver of a shot that flew past goalkeeper Justin Bijlow into the Feyenoord goal.
Feyenoord were inches from snatching a victory when left back Gijs Smal’s effort went just wide of the goal in injury time. Priske defended himself to the press after the match, saying that they do not know what they are talking about.
“You don’t know what is happening on the pitch, during the training, or in the dressing room. You have no idea. You are not there.” He added that he gets angry with the players and times before saying that he is not doing his job for journalists' approval.
Feyenoord have an incredibly difficult period of fixtures coming up. The Rotterdammers face Bayern Munich and Lille in the UEFA Champions League before they play against arch-rivals Ajax in the Eredivisie and then PSV in the KNVB Cup.
They are currently four points behind FC Utrecht, who also failed to win this weekend. Ron Jans’s team drew 0-0 against sixth-place AZ Alkmaar. Sebastien Haller started the match for the first time since he returned to the club.
There was also an important relegation clash in the Eredivisie on Sunday night. Sparta Rotterdam and RKC Waalwijk drew 1-1. RKC had taken the lead after just ten minutes when Oskar Zawada tapped home from close range. The home team equalized 14 minutes later through right back Saïd Bakari.
This means that RKC is still bottom of the Eredivisie table with eight points, and Sparta is in the solitary relegation play-off spot with 14 points. Almere City is in between both clubs with 10 points.
