Feyenoord was unable to take an advance on Thursday evening to qualify for the third qualifying round of the Conference League. The first Dutch participant ever in the new club tournament did not pass FC Drita, the number two of last season in Kosovo: 0-0. Arne Slot’s team, who made his official debut as a trainer, could not impress despite a field dominance. The return in De Kuip is scheduled for a week.
In Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, Feyenoord appeared with almost the same line-up as in the last exhibition game with Werder Bremen (2-1 win). The only change was the starting spot for Naoufal Bannis, which was at the expense of Róbert Bozeník. The newcomer to the starting XI was close to scoring the opening goal in the seventh minute, when he hit goalkeeper Faton Maloku from close range with a shot into the short corner after a sharp pass from Orkun Kökçü. Ten minutes before the break, Maloku boxed a long shot from Jens Toornstra.
Feyenoord did not get more serious opportunities in the first half. Although the visitors had a predominance of ball possession, they had difficulty converting that into opportunities that were played out. Feyenoord mainly sought the attack over the left flank, but due to a lack of creativity, it was difficult to get through Drita’s defense. The opponent from Kosovo broke out threatening a few times, but was unable to test Justin Bijlow seriously. After the break, Feyenoord’s game was by no means more convincing.
Feyenoord was still very close to the winning goal in the ‘dying seconds’ via Francesco Antonucci. pic.twitter.com/0hwvRyClKL
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) July 22, 2021
After an hour, left foot Tyrell Malacia took a shot with the right leg from just outside the box. Goalkeeper Maloku processed his bet. The biggest chance of the match up to that point came not much later for Guus Til. The summer acquisition was served just in front of goal by Marcus Pedersen, who entered the box from the right flank, but shot wide. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Francesco Antonucci shot a falling ball against the right post, which prevented Feyenoord from winning.
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