Utrecht revel in final success

FC Utrecht secured a surprise 4-1 victory over Feyenoord on Sunday to lift the Dutch Cup for only the second time in their history.

De Jong volley
Feyenoord took the early initiative in the Feijenoord stadium but Utrecht made the most of their pace on the counterattack. Both sides had a handful of early chances but it was Utrecht who opened the scoring six minutes before the end of the first half. Jean-Paul de Jong was the scorer, striking a tremendous volley from 20 metres that left goalkeeper Patrick Lodewijks with no change.

Van Hooijdonk denied
Utrecht, who finished eighth in the Eredivisie standings this season, doubled their advantage four minutes after the interval when Igor Gluscevic was sent clear and beat Lodewijks with ease. Feyenoord never gave up and saw a free-kick from Pierre van Hooijdonk saved on the line. Van Hooijdonk then had the ball in the net but his header was ruled out for a foul.

Red card
Gluscevic added a third for Utrecht after converting Pascal Bosschaart's pass from five metres, before Feyenoord pulled a goal back though Bonaventura Kalou. Brett Emerton saw his shot saved on the line and, after referee Ruud Bossen waved play on as Mariano Bombarda fell inside the area, Bosvelt was sent off for his protests.

'Important for the whole club'
Dirk Kuijt, set to become a Feyenoord player next season, completed the scoring nine minutes from full time to send the Utrecht fans wild and secure his side a place in the UEFA Cup. Utrecht, who won the cup the first time in 1985, were the beaten finalists last term, leaving coach Foeke Booij to remark: "This is very important for the whole club. We also washed away the bad taste we had from last season's cup final. I have to give a compliment to our defence, as they were as safe as a bank".

'Total failure'
Van Hooijdonk, the Eredivisie's second highest scorer this season, was clearly disappointed, saying: "Looking at the whole match, it was deserved that Utrecht won the Cup. Every time we got the feeling we could get something back, they scored another goal. We could have finished with a prize again, after last season's UEFA Cup victory, but now this season has been a total failure".