Twente fail to add cup glory

As a former England manager, Steve McClaren should be more than conversant with penalty shoot-out defeats. Well if not, he is now. His Enschede side twice came from behind against Heerenveen in the KNVB Beker final at De Kuip in Rotterdam. Goran Popov opened the scoring for Heerenveen on 26 minutes, slamming home unmarked at the back post after Sander Boschker could only palm into his path. Ten minutes into the second half, Twente were level. Blaise N'Kufo dragged Johannes Vonk out of his goal to challenge, but the Swiss striker slipped a neat ball back for Eljero Elia who surged into the box and smashed it past the retreating Vonk high into the net from a tight angle. And so it remained until full time, prompting an additional half hour. Again, the Frisians pressed ahead, Bonaventure Kalou's shot taking a horrid deflection to squeeze past the flailing Boschker. Two minutes from the end, substitute Youssef Hersi headed home Theo Janssen's cross and that meant penalties. Hersi took Twente's third penalty after the first four kicks had all gone it and blazed it over the bar and into the Heerenveen fans behind the goal. With no further misses, Gerald Sibon - once of Sheffield Wednesday - stepped up to take the tenth penalty and he sent Boshker the wrong way to take the cup for Heerenveen.
It's a bad way for McClaren to end what has been a successful first season in Dutch football, though he's talked down rumours linking him with the vacancy at Ajax.

In the Europa League play-offs, it was goals galore. A game of three penalties in Breda saw the home side take a 3-2 lead against Feyenoord for whom both goals came from the spot. Rob Penders put NAC ahead and Donny Gorter made it two with the first penalty of the match. Roy Makaay responded with a penalty of his own before Matthew Amoah made it 3-1 with ten minutes to go. But Jon Dahl Tomasson kept it alive going into the second leg converting another penalty after Tom van der Letge was sent off. At the Nieuw Galgewaard, Utrecht were ahead three times but were pegged back each time as they shared six goals with Groningen for whom Markus Berg was the hat-trick hero. Tim Cornelisse put Utrecht ahead on six minutes before Berg levelled it twelve minutes later. Leroy George restored the lead, but Berg had drawn his side level within a minute. Morten Skoubo put Utrecht ahead once again, only for Berg - this time from the penalty spot - squared it up yet again. The second legs are on Thursday while the relegation play-off get going on Friday.