Feyenoord off to a flyer

The new Eredivisie season started on Friday night with a 2-0 victory for Feyenoord away to Excelsior.

Fernandez scores on debut against former club Excelsior

The new Eredivisie season started on Friday night with a 2-0 victory for Feyenoord away to Excelsior. Guyon Fernandez only made the move across Rotterdam in the summer to join Feyenoord but he made an immediate impact with a debut goal on 56 minutes to open the scoring. A Leen van Steensel own goal followed on 71 minutes to seal a derby win for Ronald Koeman in his first competitive game as Feyenoord boss. Koeman ended his decorated playing career at Feyenoord 14 years ago and has been tasked with trying to return the Rotterdammers to their former glory after a 10th-placed finish last term. A goalless first half was hardly the start the 48-year-old would have hoped for although there were signs of promise as Leroy Fer twice came close.

Misjudged

Fer threatened first on 24 minutes when he ran onto a Ron Vlaar pass before his turn and shot was kept out by the feet of goalkeeper Wesley de Ruiter. De Ruiter was again called into action just before the break when Fer jinked past a host of defenders only to have his shot tipped around the post. Feyenoord got the goal they had threatened 11 minutes after half-time when Samuel Scheimann completely misjudged a cross into the area from Sekou Cisse. The defender ran under the ball to allow Fernandez the simplest of goals against his former club. Excelsior were again indebted to De Ruiter soon after when he made a fumbled save to deny Jerson Cabral following his run and shot from the right flank. But the game was safely in Feyenoord's keeping when Cabral made another burst down the flank and cut back a pass that Van Steensel inadvertently stabbed into his own net after De Ruiter deflected it into his path.