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Feyenoord edged Telstar 4-3 away from home on Saturday evening, with Sem Steijn scoring twice for Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side. The win extended their lead over PSV.
Following the 3-2 Champions League win over Como, Van Bronckhorst made four changes to his starting XI. Tsuyoshi Watanabe and Thijs Kraaijeveld paired up in central defence, while Steijn and Gaoussou Diarra also started. Jeremiah St. Juste, Javi López, Luciano Valente and Oussama Targhalline took places on the bench. Telstar coach Henk Brugge left captain Jeff Hardeveld out of his starting XI and put him on the bench.
Just 25 seconds into the match in Velsen-Zuid, Feyenoord took the lead. Givairo Read broke down the right and crossed to Diarra at the far post, where he finished emphatically: 0-1. It was the fastest Eredivisie goal of the season, but Telstar pushed back and threatened through Martha, among others.
After 21 minutes, Nacho Ferri doubled Feyenoord's lead. Watanabe struck the bar from a corner and the Spanish striker tapped in the rebound. Ferri's sixth league goal drew him level with Eredivisie top scorer Søren Tengstedt. Telstar hit back when Charles Vanhoutte lost the ball and Owusu caught goalkeeper Tjark Ernst out with a swerving shot from distance: 1-2. The German goalkeeper should have done better.
Steijn restored Feyenoord's two-goal lead just two minutes later. Gjivai Zechiël sent Read through with an excellent pass and the right-back laid the ball on a plate for Steijn to make it 1-3. Telstar came back again in the 37th minute. After an attack by Owusu had not been properly finished off, Patrick Brouwer pounced and slammed home: 2-3.
After the break, the match stayed tight. Just over 50 minutes in, Feyenoord had a golden chance to pull clear again when referee Jeroen Manschot awarded a penalty after the ball appeared to strike Telstar defender Soualhia's hand. A lengthy VAR review upheld the decision. Steijn kept his composure and scored his second of the evening from the spot in the 57th minute: 2-4.
Van Bronckhorst then brought on Javi López and Oussama Targhalline for Kraaijeveld and Vanhoutte. Telstar also made a change, replacing Thórisson with Jelani Seedorf. The hosts kept pushing and closed the gap again in the 69th minute when Noach Shenkman's fine header made it 3-4. For the third time, Feyenoord faced the prospect of surrendering a comfortable lead.
In the end, Feyenoord held on for their fifth consecutive victory in all competitions. PSV's surprise 2-1 defeat to ADO Den Haag earlier on Saturday allowed the Rotterdam side to extend their lead over the Eindhoven side to four points. Feyenoord have dealt their rivals a significant blow a week before the two sides meet in Eindhoven on Sunday 25 October. Telstar sit 15th.