Cyriel Dessers was the goldcrest at Feyenoord on Sunday afternoon by scoring the only goal against Sparta Rotterdam (0-1) in injury time. Afterwards, the 26-year-old striker appeared delighted for the camera at ESPN and acknowledged to have been bothered by his missed chance in the final phase against RKC Waalwijk (2-2). “Will I be in the starting line-up now? It can go fast, indeed”, Dessers said with a smile on his face.
It was Dessers’ third goal for Feyenoord, all made as a substitute. “Until now I have scored all my goals in extra time, so you quickly get the label of ‘supersub’, I prefer not to,” said the Belgian. “But I’m just glad I was able to help the team, these are good points for us.” Two weeks ago, Dessers missed a crucial opportunity against RKC by shooting from close range. “I did have a bad night of that, I can say that,” he admitted on Sunday.
His winning goal against Sparta came before @feyenoord and Cyriel Dessers himself at a good time:
“I did have a bad night after RKC.” ??#spafey pic.twitter.com/JxoHGVd6aE
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) October 31, 2021
“I had problems with that for two or three days. That should not actually be allowed, but then I turned the switch. It is also the life and fate of a striker, then you just have to be ready for that next chance Today I shoot it well, so I think I responded well to that,” said Dessers, who says he is increasingly able to deal with missed opportunities. “When I was younger, I had this more often. I did take steps in that, but it was my first time starting in De Kuip, I really wanted to show it. And if you miss an important opportunity at the end then you’ll feel bad.”
Dessers was in the right place at the far post with his winning goal to suddenly place a corner kick in the far corner. “I can’t really explain it very well,” said Dessers, while he was shown the images of his goal. “I felt, as it were, that the ball was going to get there. I did not participate at all in the pressure. I can’t explain it well myself. I saw that Maduka Okoye, who I know from Nigeria, still had one hand on it , when I was still a bit stressed, but then I saw him go into the net. That is also on automatic pilot. I hit him well and cleanly, not wildly with the instep, but a bit by feel.”
Due to the late victory, Feyenoord is fully participating for the top places in the Eredivisie. “The release was very great,” Dessers said of the atmosphere in the dressing room. “It was such a difficult game. Sparta was super stiff and tough. Their hope is growing and it is slightly less with us. If you can still win at the end, those are really top marks for us. We really have to be happy with it.”
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ajax | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 26 |
| 2 | PSV | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 24 |
| 3 | Feyenoord | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 22 |
| 4 | FC Utrecht | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 20 |
| 5 | Vitesse | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | -6 | 19 |
| 6 | William II | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 18 |
| 7 | AZ | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 15 |
| 8 | FC Twente | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 15 |
| 9 | NEC | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | -5 | 14 |
| 10 | sc Heerenveen | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 13 |
| 11 | Go Ahead Eagles | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | -6 | 13 |
| 12 | SC Cambuur | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | -7 | 12 |
| 13 | Heracles Almelo | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -4 | 11 |
| 14 | RKC Waalwijk | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | -2 | 10 |
| 15 | Fc Groningen | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | -5 | 10 |
| 16 | Fortuna Sittard | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -8 | 9 |
| 17 | Sparta Rotterdam | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | -11 | 7 |
| 18 | PEC Zwolle | 11 | 1 | 1 | 9 | -14 | 4 |