A surprise start and strong showing from forgotten PSV-yank Richard Ledezma was overshadowed by Malik Tillman’s man-of-the-match performance in a win over helpless Waalwijk, while Korede Osundina bagged a brace for Dordrecht to get his Eerste Divisie season off on the right foot.
PSV Eindhoven 5 – 1 RKC Waalwijk
Richard Ledezma made the most of a teammate’s contract dispute to impress in a surprise start at right-back, however it was fellow American Malik Tillman who stole the show on Saturday with a goal and nearly more, as PSV Eindhoven opened their title defense with a convincing win.
With usual PSV starting right back Jordan Teze causing some internal issues in his attempt to force a move away from the club, head coach Peter Bosz made the unexpected move of inserting Ledezma into the starting spot in the defense, a far cry from his usual role as a central attacker in the midfield.
He was joined in the starting XI with fellow American Tillman, who lined up on the right side of the midfield, while Ricardo Pepi only played the final 20 minutes in place of captain Luuk de Jong.
Sergiño Dest is still several months away from the playing field as he recovers from a torn ACL.
Tillman already had his first chance within the first minute, streaking in to whack a cross from Johan Bakayoko from near the penalty spot, however his shot was high and wide to the left.
The PSV defense did show some early shakiness, allowing Richard van der Venne to collect a loose ball deep in their own territory with a clear, albeit angled shot on goal from the right, however Ledezma lunged in at the last second, making an impressive goal-line clearance.
The Belgian winger Bakayoko did put finally the hosts on the board in the ninth minute, collecting a long, diagonal cross from Joey Veerman in the right side of the area, and firing his strike to the far side for the 1-0 advantage.
Not even two minutes later, Tillman had the ball in the back of the net on a breakaway with Noa Lang, however the goal was called back following a VAR review after Bakayoko was seen to be in an offside position during the buildup.
Unfazed by the temporary setback, PSV effectively put the game out of reach before the half with another pair of goals.
Shortly past the 27-minute mark, Tillman tried to lay off a short set-up to de Jong after penetrating through the defense near the left post, however the team captain saw no opening for a shot, and instead retreated a few yards, and picked out Jerdy Schouten for a low, eight-yard strike to the right corner.
Then Tillman added PSV’s third goal in the 37th minute, receiving a short pass deep in the midfield from Veerman, and advancing unabated towards the Waalwijk goal before unleashing a looping 25-yarder to the upper right corner in highlight-reel fashion.
Tillman was close once again just before the 54-minute mark, attempting to strike from seven yards as he cut laterally through the area, only to see his shot deflected by the opposing keeper’s foot.
Second-half substitute Hirving Lozano continued adding to the guests’ pain, striking a low shot from distance that somehow slipped through the keeper’s arms. While they did score a consolation goal with 13 minutes remaining, taking advantage of a pair of PSV defensive errors to set up a strike from van der Venne, Lozano closed out the win two minutes later, putting away Guus Til’s short cross from close range to complete the 5-1 blowout.
While the team was strong all around, Tillman especially stood out with four shots, three of which were on target, four chances created, and a goal which could have easily been joined by two others were it not for a narrow offside call and a clutch save by the opposition.
PSV will enjoy the short-lived lull to start the season, as they next face promoted Heracles on Sunday,
FC Emmen 1 – 2 FC Dordrecht
Illinois-born Korede Osundina started his Eerste Divisie season as well as one could could ask, hitting a pair of goals within the first 20 minutes of kickoff to guide Dordrecht to a road win over FC Emmen on Friday night.
Long Beach native John Hilton also started for the visitors, assisting on Osundina’s second goal while playing the full game at right back. Joshua Pynadath, who signed with Dordrecht in the summer after missing more than year to injuries, did not suit up.
For Emmen, German-American Jalen Hawkins, who has prior experience with the American U18 setup and joined the team in summer after a successful season in Germany’s 3. Liga, played 81 minutes on the right side of the hosts’ midfield.
Osundina opened the scoring after five minutes; a corner was headed on towards the back post by Devin Haen, and the American stooped down to put his own header over the line, beating the Emmen keeper’s desperate dive for the ball.
Hawkins nearly pulled Emmen even in the tenth minute, attempting a low shot from the right side towards the lower left corner of goal, however his shot was just a touch wide, and bounced off the upright.
13 minutes later, Osundina struck again, sprinting through the defense to chase down a long ball from Hilton, then targeting his low shot from the right side of the area to the lower opposite corner for the 2-0 lead.
He was pulled off after the half, although not due to any apparent injury but rather a reflection of the coach’s comfort with their lead. This was cut in half when Emmett’s Julius Kade cleaned up a spilled save in the 49th minute.
However, Dordrecht’s defense held for the remainder, earning the valuable three road points to open the season.
The trio of Americans on the team will next face ADO Den Haag on Saturday afternoon, while Hawkins and his teammates visit Volendam on Sunday.
Notes
Paxten Aaronson earned a starting spot in FC Utrecht’s three-man front line on Sunday, while Taylor Booth entered the game midway through the second half, in the team’s narrow 1-0 home win over PEC Zwolle. Aaronson managed to take one shot during his 90 minutes, while Booth was mostly ineffective during his time on the field. Anthony Fontana was an unused substitute for the visitors.
Philippe Sandler is recovering from a hamstring injury and missed NEC Nijmegen’s season-opening, 2-1 loss at home to FC Twente on Saturday.
Augustin Anello was not in uniform for Sparta Rotterdam as they opened their season at home on Sunday with a scoreless draw against visiting Heracles.
Gedion Zelalem was not in uniform for FC Den Bosch on Friday as they lost by a 2-0 scoreline on the road against FC Eindhoven in Eerste Divisie action.
Rickson van Hees was not in uniform for Jong Utrecht on Friday in their season-opening 1-1 draw at Helmond Sport.
Kik Pierre is still fighting injury, and missed Excelsior Rotterdam’s 3-1 road loss at TOP Oss on Friday.
