Feyenoord climb to second with 3-1 win away to NEC Nijmegen

Feyenoord climb to second with 3-1 win away to NEC Nijmegen Feyenoord bounced back from their disappointing 2-2 draw with ADO Den Haag last weekend by defeating NEC 3-1 in Nijmegen on Saturday. All the goals fell after halftime after a disappointing first half. Feyenoord played without Anis Hadj Moussa. The Algerian winger was left out of the matchday squad by manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst for disciplinary reasons. Hadj Moussa was late on two occasions, including for the team meeting. It has been reported in recent days that Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad are showing an interest in signing him. Van Bronckhorst has said that the club is currently not planning on selling him. The Rotterdammers have 11 points after five games and are currently in second place. Surprisingly, Feyenoord have gotten 9 out of those 11 points in away games. They are still waiting for their first victory in De Kuip this season. Nacho Ferri was given the striker spot after Ayase Ueda’s departure to French side Lille. Feyenoord controlled the first half and created the only real chance of the first half through Mika Marmol. The defender hit his effort into the side netting after just over 15 minutes played. The second half was much more entertaining. Almugera Kabar, the loanee from Borussia Dortmund, made an error for NEC when he got his connection on the ball completely wrong in his own half. Gijval Zechiel converted the chance at the second post from an assist by Ferri. It was the midfielder’s fourth goal of the Eredivisie season. NEC responded almost instantly to make it 1-1. Darko Nejasmic hit a technically sublime shot with his left foot from outside the penalty area. Feyenoord took the lead for the second time after just over an hour played. Zechiel profited from the huge amount of space left in NEC’s defence and set up Luciano Valente for the 2-1. Debutant Jerayno Schaken scored the final goal of the game late on to make it 3-1 for Feyenoord. Feyenoord will start their UEFA Champions League campaign on Wednesday against FC Barcelona. Reporting by ANP