Ayase Ueda double rescues Feyenoord after poor first half against Excelsior
Two goals from Eredivisie top scorer Ayase Ueda saved Feyenoord in their home match against Excelsior on Sunday in De Kuip. A poor first half led to Robin van Persie’s side going into the break with a 1-0 deficit after a terrific goal from Arthur Zagre in the Rotterdam derby.
Despite the victory, the performance left a lot to be desired in anticipation of the Klassieker against Ajax next Sunday. The pressure on Van Persie was evident prior to kick-off as the Feyenoord supporters unveiled banners calling for his resignation and the board’s resignation.
Raheem Sterling was named in the lineup for the first time. The decorated winger joined Feyenoord a month ago but has not been able to convince with his performances as of yet.
Feyenoord’s first-half performance did not help matters. Excelsior took the lead in the 28th minute after a moment of magic from left back Arthur Zagreb. A long ball from goalkeeper Stijn van Gassel found Zagre with two Feyenoord players around him. The Frenchman solved this magnificently, lobbing the ball over both of them before converting the chance with his weaker right foot. This led to chants from the Feyenoord fans calling for Van Persie’s resignation.
This woke Van Persie’s side up as they started to test Van Gassel. First, a cross from Jeroen Bos was headed towards the corner by Ayase Ueda, Van Gassel did well to palm it away before making an even better save a few seconds later when Sterling curled the ball towards the far corner.
Ueda was involved in another dangerous moment for the home team a few minutes later, Van Gassel saved his effort from outside the area, and the rebound hit an Excelsior defender, but fell beneficially for the away side.
The home side came out for the second half with an improved attitude. And this almost led to their first goal in the 50th minute when Oussama Targhelline found Ueda with a fantastic pass, Ueda converted the chance, but it was disallowed after a VAR review.
Although the Japanese striker did not have to wait long to get his goal, in the 58th minute, a low cross from Jeroen Bos went past the Excelsior defence to Ueda, he made a poor connection with the ball with his attempt, which resulted in the ball spinning away from a bamboozled Van Gassel.
It proved to be a catalyst for Van Persie’s side as they scored again a minute later. Sterling played a great pass into the path of Ueda, who rolled his finish under Van Gassel and into the net.
Anis Hadj Moussa almost got on the scoresheet on two occasions in the final stages of the game. Ueda found him with a cross in the 79th minute, which led to a save from Van Gassel, before a much more significant chance, assisted by substitute Casper Tengstedt, was also stopped by Van Gassel in the 86th minute.
