Heerenveen inflicted Feyenoord’s first defeat in the Dutch Eredivisie, beating them 5-3 at the Abe Lenstra Stadium. The visitors took a 2-0 lead, but the hosts turned the game around after the break, with Ringo Meerveld completing a hat-trick.
Feyenoord opened the scoring in the 25th minute. Anis Hadj Moussa cut in from the right and sent the ball into the far corner with a left-footed shot. Six minutes later, Nacho Ferri doubled the lead from the penalty spot after Vasilios Zagaritis was penalised for handball. The decision provoked protests from the hosts, but after a VAR review, it stood.
Heerenveen pulled one goal back in the third minute of stoppage time at the end of the first half. Following a corner, Maas Willemsen found himself in a good position and reduced the deficit to 1-2.
The equaliser came just two minutes after the restart. Levi Smans’ shot took a deflection off a Feyenoord defender and wrong-footed goalkeeper Tjarrk Ernst. In the 61st minute, substitute Ringo Meerveld finished off a Heerenveen attack to put the hosts ahead for the first time.
Feyenoord responded in the 69th minute. Sem Steijn capitalised on a mistake in the hosts’ defence to make it 3-3. After that, however, the initiative once again shifted to Heerenveen.
Meerveld scored his second goal in the 84th minute with a shot from the edge of the penalty area. In the third minute of stoppage time, he completed his hat-trick with a follow-up effort to bring the match to an end at 5-3. The midfielder thus became the decisive figure in the hosts’ comeback.
Feyenoord remain top but have lost their advantage
Feyenoord remained in first place at the end of the match, but the defeat put their position at the top in doubt. Ajax, PSV and FC Twente had the opportunity to overtake the Rotterdam side with victories in their respective matches.
For Feyenoord, it was a fifth consecutive match without a win in all competitions. Heerenveen, meanwhile, extended their good run and recorded a fifth straight victory, including cup matches. Before the game, the hosts’ coach Robin Veldman described the match as a “good test” for both teams.
Heerenveen will visit Groningen on 21 November, while Feyenoord will host Excelsior on the same day.
Sources: nos.nl, flashscore.com, heerenveen.headliner.nl