ROBIN VAN PERSIE was left scrambling to explain a baffling tactical decision after his side were dumped out of the KNVB Cup by a team of AMATEURS.
Heerenveen, ninth in the Dutch top-flight, were 2-1 up against minnows Quick Boys in the last 16 of the national cup with just ten minutes to play.
But, bizarrely, the former Manchester United and Arsenal striker opted to bring on a new goalkeeper for the final ten minutes.
Mickey van der Hart had looked solid between the sticks for the first 80 minutes of the match, only for Van Persie to bring on Andries Noppert.
Despite boasting five Holland caps, Noppert, 30, has only played 76 club matches in his career and hadn’t played since November.
And one of the sub goalkeeper’s first touches of the ball was picking the ball out of the net, too, after an error led to him giving away a penalty.
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He then let in an 105th-minute goal as Heerenveen were dumped out of the cup by their amateur opponents.
Van Persie attempted to explain his decision to bring on the 6ft 8in stopper, saying: “I looked at the time left to play, the score and what they were going to do…
“They were going to play 3-3-4, with two towering strikers. I expected a lot of crosses.
“I looked at what we needed as a team. And that was Andries.”
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However, the former striker admitted his decision backfired drastically.
Van Persie added: “It almost never happens in football, so I understand that it feels illogical to people.
“But the fact that it almost never happens was no reason for me not to do this, and we have discussed this often with Mickey and Andries in recent months.”
When asked if lack of match practice hindered Noppert, Van Persie replied: “That could be possible…
“But on the other hand, I don’t think it was a penalty and with that other goal it was also difficult for Andries to do something.
“You can think of all kinds of reasons why that substitution was not a good choice. But I mainly look at why it was a good choice.”
Noppert admitted he was “ashamed” of his role in the defeat, adding: “I had the feeling that I touched the ball and that it was not a penalty.
“‘But it happened to me. This is unacceptable and a disgrace. I should be ashamed.
“Then you look for excuses. I have to look at myself first. I was given the chance to show myself. If that doesn’t work, then it’s your own fault.
“It’s a big man’s world. I can only blame myself for this.”
After the shock result, Quick Boy’s match-winner Levi van Duijn claimed Van Persie’s experiment was “doomed to fail”.
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Van Persie has guided Heerenveen to ninth in the 18-team Eredivisie this season with seven wins from 18 league matches.
However, he was also in charge for the 9-1 destruction at the hands of AZ in September.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
