Feyenoord booked its first victory in the Conference League on Thursday evening by beating Slavia Prague 2-1. It was a match with two faces: in the first half, coach Arne Slot’s team was in charge and put the opponent under full pressure, while after the tea the visitors had the upper hand and the forces flowed away from the Rotterdam team. Wim Kieft had already expected that Feyenoord could never maintain the high tempo for ninety minutes.
Feyenoord made an excellent impression, especially in the first 45 minutes. Goals from Orkun Kökçü and Bryan Linssen led to the break with a 2-0 lead. Slavia Prague playing football was made impossible because it was constantly put under pressure by the home team, which was boosted by a full and atmospheric Kuip. Kieft said halfway through the game in the studio of Veronica Inside already that Feyenoord would not keep up with that playing style for the entire game. “Exactly”, said Johan Derksen afterwards. “After the break, there was no more. Those guys didn’t really have finished chances, but then the pressure was really on Slavia Prague.”
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After more than an hour of play, Tomas Holes signed for the connecting goal. According to presenter Wilfred Genee, it then looked ‘shaky’ at Feyenoord. “Certainly,” said Derksen. “They were all very happy that it was over,” he refers to the Feyenoord players. According to Kieft, fatigue played a major role for the Rotterdammers. “You can’t keep up with that, dude. The way they played in that first half, I’ve never actually seen a team do that. So much pressure and such a fast pace. Then you are also 2-0 ahead and you start thinking: let them come.”
Goal scorer Kökcü came to the same conclusion afterwards as Derksen and Kieft. “In the first half we may have played our best 45 minutes. In the second half it was just fighting, defending and giving everything. We did that well,” said the midfielder, who emphasizes that the contrast between the first and “In the first half they played with couples in midfield and everyone had a man. In the second half they rotated, we had trouble with that.”
Kökcü could not keep up the high tempo and reported to the sidelines after an hour of play. “I have to say honestly that I went to the trainer and said my legs were up. I couldn’t go on much longer,” he said afterwards, quoted by Rhine estuary. “Then the trainer immediately said: then we will switch. It was just fatigue.” Kökcü was not the only Feyenoord player who had a hard time; Guus Til had to deal with cramping symptoms in the final phase, while several players fell on the field after the final whistle from fatigue.