Yoann Cathline frustrated FC Utrecht fans during Saturday afternoon's home match against PEC Zwolle. The French forward squandered a huge chance in the second minute, shooting instead of passing to team-mate Ángel Alarcón, who was in a much better position. Partly as a result, it was still 0-0 at half-time at Stadion Galgenwaard.
FC Utrecht had an excellent chance to score almost immediately after kick-off. After Didden's persistence, a PEC Zwolle corner sparked a lightning-quick counter-attack, with Cathline and Alarcón bearing down on a single defender.
With Alarcón completely unmarked, Cathline had the chance to put the home side ahead. Instead, he went for goal himself and shot wide of the PEC Zwolle goal.
Jeroen Kapteijns criticised the Frenchman's decision. "A huge miss straight away for FC Utrecht," the De Telegraaf journalist wrote on X. "The two-on-one situation is then handled terribly because Cathline can't be bothered to pass to the unmarked Alarcón and shoots wide himself."
Kapteijns felt Cathline should have passed. "A poor showing from the Frenchman," was his verdict. He also had a message for FC Utrecht manager Anthony Correia: "Anthony Correia should devote a thorough post-match discussion to this. You simply have to lay this ball off to your team-mate, who is in a better position."
At half-time on ESPN, Cathline's decision also baffled Kees Kwakman. "Sometimes you wonder what goes through a player's head," the pundit began. "Cathline can pass to him here once, twice, three times, four times, but he doesn't seem to have any intention of doing so. If you ultimately decide not to pass, that's one thing, but I don't think he ever had it in his head to pass the ball at all."
Kwakman believed Cathline was focused solely on scoring himself. "All he was thinking was: I'm going myself," said the former footballer, who also discussed Alarcón's reaction. "He reacts quite calmly, actually, I think. If I put myself in his shoes, I would have lost my temper. I find it incomprehensible that you don't pass this ball."
Alarcón had plenty of space to score, Kwakman stressed. "It's not as if Aartsen does a particularly good job of marking Alarcón. He clearly goes for Cathline and leaves Alarcón free." The pundit summed up the missed opportunity: "This really should have been 1-0 to Utrecht after two minutes."