http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/PSV-c40281 Eindhoven bring European hope to Eredivisie
Dutch Eredivisie teams made their mark in the UEFA Europa League, as FC Twente Enschede travelled to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lille-OSC-c39800.
With three difficult away games, even the most optimistic of Dutch football lovers were not expecting any joy out of the first legs of the knockout phases. However, all Dutch outfits managed to record good results, and as a result they are in a good position to qualify for the next phase of Europe’s secondary competition.
Twente was the first team to enthrall the Dutch football fans, as they defeated the Russian outfit comprehensively with well deserved 2 – 0 victory. The Tukkers knew the fact that the Tatars have remained invincible at their home, as they have not beaten once in the European competition at home in last five years. Things were made even worse when the Reds had also to deal with extreme weather conditions. The visitors were refusing to play, but UEFA have threatemed the Eredivisie side with a three-year ban as the Tukkers were literally forced to play the match.
The Tatars performance was nothing like the level of their displays at home against Barcelona in recent years. Critics argue that the Tatars were not actually playing at home; a possible reason for the defeat, as freezing weather changed the venue to Luzhniki artificial pitch. However, the Volzhane cannot blame an artificial pitch as the reason for their shocking loss in front of a ‘modest’ crowd of just a few hundred people. Nonetheless, the Tukkers are in the driving seat to qualify for the Round of 16.
Elsewhere, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/RSC-Anderlecht-c40394 were the favourites to win the first leg of Europa League Round of 32 against the Dutch giants Ajax. However, much to their disappointment the Amsterdammers emerged victorious 3 – 0 comfortably.
Many suggest that the Sporting deserved a result in favour of them, as the home side dominated for most part of the game. However, the Purple & White missed a penalty with score line reading 0-1 against them. Many suggest that had the home side taken the spot-kick cleanly, it would have been a different game altogether for the Sporting. Nevertheless, de Joden should be praised for their brilliant performance under pressure.
Dutch Eredivisie table toppers, PSV Eindhoven, had to face the Ligue 1 leaders in their Europa League Round of 32 double headers away fixture. Lille were the favourites to win the match, as they were enjoying an 13 match unbeaten run at Stade Lille-Metropole. The home side were 2 – 0 up till the 80th minute of the match, but the visitors replied strongly with two goals in quick succession in the dying minutes of the match.
The Boeren manager, Fred Rutten, was not pleased with his side’s performance on the pitch. However, his side eventually got a good result at the end of the match. The Boeren will now be the favourites to qualify for the Europa League Round of 16, as they will host the French outfit at Philips Stadion Eindhoven.
A spot in the final of Europe’s secondary football competition is still far away, but last night results on 17 February, 2011 confirm that the Dutch clubs are still worthy contenders in the Europa League. Many believe that Eredivisie sides don’t stand a chance to qualify for the final of this season. However, Dutch football lovers have every right to be optimistic after their beloved Eredivisie sides’ performances in the first legs of the Europa League Round of 32.
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