PEC Zwolle won 1-0 against Fortuna Sittard on Saturday evening. The match also meant the duel between Ryan Thomas and Mohamed Ihattaren, who know each other well from their joint period at PSV. Thomas was full of praise for his former teammate afterwards.
Ihattaren and Thomas spent 1,326 minutes as teammates on the (mid) field at PSV, spread over 31 matches. The two know and like each other well and their reunion on the field, even as opponents, felt special for Thomas.
The two regularly met each other on the field on Saturday evening and fought the necessary tough, friendly duels. In one of those matches, Ihattaren was knocked out by Thomas, who was grabbed by his shirt and received a kiss on the cheek from Ihattaren.
“I think he is such a nice and sweet boy,” said Thomas, who hopes to participate in the World Cup with New Zealand next summer. “He’s had a lot of things thrown at him by the media, because of certain things that have happened.”
“I don’t think that is entirely justified, but he is so incredibly good. I hope he just stays fit. Then he can take a nice step and have a great career,” Thomas said with praise.
Of Kiwi was able to enjoy some nice actions from Ihattaren, even though he was his opponent on Saturday evening. “It’s always fun when you play against a friend. Hopefully he doesn’t do it against us, but it’s always nice to see it on the field.”
PEC played a difficult match against Fortuna, but won 1-0 and therefore climbed to tenth place. The fact that the victory came with difficulty does not bother Thomas. “In the end, 1-0 wins are always the best.”
