Indonesian National Team player, Eliano Reijnders, said that the winning goal he scored against Willem II in the Eredivisie match at the Koning Stadium, Tilburg, Wednesday (14/5), was very important for PEC Zwolle.
Eliano scored a beautiful goal in the 79th minute. After receiving a from Kaj de Rooij, the 24 year old player tricked Willem II’s defenders with two movements and unleashed a hard kick into the goal.
The winning goal scored by Eliano was very important for PEC Zwolle. The reason is, the victory over Willem II made PEC Zwolle open up the opportunity to qualify for European competition next season through the playoffs.
“The goal was an important moment. We knew that if we won, we would have a good chance of making the playoffs for Europe. That was our target throughout the season,” Eliano said.
Eliano wanted to show off the beautiful goal he scored against Willem II to his older brother, Tijjani Reijnders.
“I was curious about what my brother Tijjani would think about my goal. But now he is playing when Milan plays against Bologna. We have agreed that we will both score, so now it is his turn to score,” Eliano said.
The victory over Willem II made PEC Zwolle rank 13th in the Dutch League standings with 38 points. Above PEC are Groningen and Sparta Rotterdam who have 39 points, and Fortuna Sittard, Heerenveen, and NEC Nijmegen who have 40 points.
With one match remaining, there are still two playoff tickets to European competition remaining. Two tickets have been confirmed for AZ Alkmaar (ranked 5) and FC Twente (ranked 6), the other two playoff tickets will go to the teams finishing in eighth and ninth positions.
Meanwhile, the team ranked seventh, Go Ahead Eagles, has already qualified for the main round of the Europa League because they are KNVB Cup champions.
“All this season our position has been relegation or not, but now with one match left, we are confirmed. Very happy with this result,” said PEC coach Johnny Jansen after the match.
