eindhoven draw favours fenerbahçe published: wednesday 24 october 2007, 0.20cet
psv eindhoven 0-0 fenerbahçe sk the visitors lost striker deivid to a 64th-minute red card but held on for a well-earned group g draw in the netherlands.
by derek brookman from psv stadium
psv eindhoven's six-match winning streak at home to turkish clubs came to an end as an industrious fenerbahçe sk side deservedly held on for a goalless draw with ten men.
no fluke zico's team showed that their excellent start to group g – four points from two games – was no fluke as they stifled any threat from psv and always looked more likely to grab a winner. even after brazilian striker deivid was shown a straight red card just past the hour, the visitors resisted with relative ease. with psv having to travel to ıstanbul in a fortnight's time one point behind second-placed fenerbaçhe, the prospects seem bright for the turkish champions.
early chances psv had almost got off to a flying start after six minutes. a short reverse pass by kenneth perez put danko lazović clean through on away goalkeeper volkan demirel, but deniz barış made a brave saving tackle. two minutes later mehmet aurélio hooked the ball clear from virtually under his own crossbar after a knockdown by jan kromkamp, although it was not all one-way traffic. after ten minutes a shot by deivid was not far wide of psv keeper heurelho gomes's right-hand post.
quick passing for the next 20 minutes neither side managed to create any clear openings, yet the hand of fenerbahçe coach zico could be seen in his team's quick passing through midfield. the psv strike duo of lazović and jefferson farfán became increasingly isolated as the süper lig club took the game to their hosts. just after the half-hour gomes had to rush from his area to clear after eric addo's mistake almost let in semih şentürk.
fenerbaçhe pressure fenerbahçe suffered a blow minutes later when captain and playmaker alex was substituted after taking a knock on the ankle. he was replaced by ali bilgin. however, the enforced change did nothing to disrupt fenerbahçe's momentum, and as the first half ended they continued to enjoy territorial advantage, carrying the greater goalscoring menace.
visitors come close zico's men began the second period as they had finished the first, on the ascendancy, with aurélio screwing a shot wide from outside the box soon after the restart. they came even closer on 54 minutes, when addo brilliantly blocked semih's strike after gomes could only parry a cross from bilgin.
red for deivid home coach ronald koeman had obviously seen enough and quickly made a double substitution, replacing the quiet edison méndez with danny koevermans and taking off addo in favour of mike zonneveld, making his uefa champions league debut. and zonneveld had an immediate impact: it was for a late tackle on the midfielder that deivid was sent off after 64 minutes. the dutch title-holders' numerical advantage, as well as their added fire power, meant there was subsequently more action in the fenerbahçe half, yet opportunities remained elusive. koevermans headed just wide with 12 minutes left but that was as close as psv came to a breakthrough.
