Feyenoord leapfrog Rijeka with victory
Thursday, November 6, 2014
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Feyenoord 2-0 HNK Rijeka
Goals from Karim El Ahmadi and Lex Immers earned Feyenoord a victory which lifted them above their visitors into second in Group G.
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• Goals from Karim El Ahmadi and Lex Immers seal victory for Feyenoord
• Feyenoord rack up third straight home win in UEFA Europa League
• Fred Rutten's team now on six points in Group G; Rijeka have four
• Next games: Feyenoord v Sevilla, Rijeka v Standard Liège (27 November)
Feyenoord moved into second place in UEFA Europa League Group G courtesy of a 2-0 defeat of HNK Rijeka.
The Eredivisie outfit prevailed thanks to an impressive first-half display that was rewarded by goals for Karim El Ahmadi and Lex Immers. Andrej Kramarić had two fine opportunities for the visitors in the second half, but Feyenoord goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer stood firm.
Immers and Colin Kazım Richards had already gone close by the time El Ahmadi fired in after just eight minutes. And Feyenoord did not let up thereafter, despite Rijeka's attempts to exploit them on the counterattack. Such a tempo paid dividends for the hosts on 20 minutes, when Immers headed in from a Jens Toornstra corner. Kazım Richards and Elvis Manu then both went close to adding to the lead for Fred Rutten's team.
Rijeka did at least to establish a foothold prior to the interval, yet it was Feyenoord – through Kazım Richards and Immers – who continued to have the best of the chances. Rijeka grew into the game in the second half and started to threaten more in the final third. Kramarić, though, could not find a way past Vermeer, while Zoran Kvržić's lob avoided the goalkeeper but also missed the target.