PSV got through the eye of the needle on Sunday afternoon. Roger Schmidt’s team had every possible difficulty with Sparta Rotterdam, but eventually triumphed with 1-2. It took a red card from Arno Verschueren to turn the game around. At PSV, Mauro Júnior claimed a leading role. The opportunity back provided the equalizer with a brilliant long shot. Afterwards, Schmidt expressed his satisfaction with the state of the synthetic turf pitch at Het Kasteel.
“The most important thing is that we won and didn’t get injured on this field,” Schmidt said after the game. ESPN† “This has nothing to do with football. You can’t play football on this field. We don’t have to discuss the game or our game today. In the end you have to make sure you win these kinds of games and then you have to go home quickly. “You saw it for yourself. Especially when the field wasn’t watered. It was dry. You run the risk of getting injured with every tackle. I’m glad nothing bad happened today.”
At PSV, Yorbe Vertessen had to stop the battle halfway through. Schmidt indicated afterwards that the Belgian is struggling with knee complaints, but does not expect to be rid of him for long. PSV fell behind due to fumbling with Ibrahim Sangaré. After Mauro Júnior had leveled the Eindhoven team, substitute Ritsu Doan executed the verdict. The next test for PSV will follow next Wednesday, when the cup match against Go Ahead Eagles is on the program. “We have to make sure that we recover as well as possible so that we are ready for the semi-finals,” said Schmidt.
Mauro Júnior also knows that PSV’s game left something to be desired against Sparta. “We know this was not our best game, but in the end we have the three points. That was the most important for us. It was a fighting game. In the first half we didn’t get into the duels. We got it in the second “Half rectified. The team was not in their best form in the initial phase. We have a busy schedule, many games are scheduled in the coming weeks. The most important thing is that we were able to turn it around.”
“I feel good. The coach and team-mates give me a lot of confidence. The team needs me, now as a right back. I’m ready to play, which position doesn’t matter to me. I think it’s important to play, that does me good,” said Mauro, who took care of the equalizing goal. “The corner was taken quickly. When I saw the ball leave I knew it was a good shot.” It was Mauro Júnior’s second goal of the season. Two weeks ago he was also accurate against Vitesse.