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Excelsior assistant coach André Hoekstra admitted at the post-match press conference that he had warned his players they would face a tall task when taking on top club PSV, but Sef Vergoossen immediately took the edge of his statement. 'We've not been playing well and did not put on the kind of performance you might expect from a top club tonight', said the PSV head coach, who claimed luck was with his side after watching PSV snatch a late win at the hands of Excelsior at the Philips Stadium on Saturday night.
'We started the game brightly and scored an early goal, but failed to slice open their defence and double our advantage, because we did not play with a high tempo and with a good rhythm. With the clock ticking on, we lost our composure and frequently lost possession, while we didn't switch quickly enough from defence to attack. We sent on Koevermans as an extra striker in the closing stages, but gradually we let the game slip away', said Vergoossen. 'I have to confess I was more than just a little relieved to see Danny Koevermans' shot finish in the back of the net with just seconds left. We could not create openings against a compact and well-organised defence and it was not the first time this season. We will carry on and work hard at training so we can pass the ball more quickly and raise the tempo of our game', concluded Vergoossen, touching the sore spot.
André Hoekstra, who deputised for Ton Lokhoff at the post-match press conference, explained that the Excelsior coaching staff had warned their players not to concede an early goal. 'But even when we were one goal down, we fought ourselves back into the game. We worked hard and kept believing in what we were doing. We set up some fine counter attacks in the second half and created a few chances. I won't claim a 1-1 final score would have been a fair reflection of the game, but we felt shattered after we conceded that late goal.'
