Feyenoord 1-2 Roma (2-3 agg): Giallorossi secure progression despite crowd trouble

Date: 26th February 2015 at 11:31pm
Written by:

In a game marred by crowd trouble, Roma claimed a 2-1 victory over Feyenoord at De Kuip to put the another Italian side through to the next round of the UEFA Europa League.

After a 1-1 draw last week, the Giallorossi went into this fixture knowing that they would need to score at least one goal to progress and following early pressure from the hosts, Adem Ljajic grabbed a vital away goal on the stroke of half time before Elivs Manu made it 1-1; however, Gervinho regained Roma’s lead near the hour mark to secure progression to the Round of 16.

Feyenoord started brightly on a sodden evening in Rotterdam as they attacked Roma right from kick off in a clear attempt to stamp their home authority upon this tie; the hosts consistently put the Italians under pressure during the opening stages as they attacked with pace down the flanks and slung dangerous balls into the box.

As the game developed Roma did manage to break forward a few times and after firing an opportunity wide moments earlier, Francesco Totti was unfortunate to smash a long range free kick off the home side’s post in the 18th minute.

It was clear from the start that it was going to be a heated affair, Daniele De Rossi was extremely lucky to escape an early booking after a very late lunge on Khalid Boulahrouz while Colin Kazim-Richards and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa were at each others throats until the English born forward was forced off with an injury.

As the first half progressed Roma began to take control of proceedings; Adem Ljajic managed to get in behind the Dutch back line on several occasions and after missing a few chances the Serb, unmarked at the back post, connected with a Vasilis Torosidis cross to slot past Kenneth Vermeer a minute into first half stoppage time.

After an early scare when a careless mistake almost put the hosts through on goal, the Giallorossi again began to dictate the play in the second half as they had before the break, and just as in the first half the skulduggery continued with Mitchell te Vrede sent off for a late challenge on Kostas Manolas.

Crowd tension had been brewing throughout this match and it exploded following the red card, with the referee ordering the players off the pitch in the 55th minute due to aggressive and possibly racist abuse from the home supporters.

When the game recommenced Feyenoord scored straight away through substitute Elvis Manu who ran unopposed through the heart of the Roma defence before putting the the ball under Lukasz Skorupski to stun the visitors and level the tie.

This parity didn’t last long however, as Gervinho immediately struck back at the other end, the Ivorian scoring in the 60th minute through a combination of clever movement and cool finishing.

With their numerical advantage, Roma were happy to sit and allow the home team chase the late goals they needed to avoid elimination from the competition; Feyenoord were able to craft a few chances to reopen the contest but the Serie A side were able to see out the game and claim a professional victory in difficult circumstances.

 

Comments are closed.