Weghorst reveals remarkable conversation with Kooij: ‘He said to me afterwards...’

Wout Weghorst earned FC Twente a point in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Ajax, scoring an injury-time penalty. The striker told ESPN how he handled the closing stages and discussed his exchange with Ajax striker Tolu Arokodare after the final whistle.

In the 93rd minute, Weghorst stepped up after Lucas Rosa fouled Ramiz Zerrouki. "It's not that easy. Above all, you try to get your heart rate down and calm yourself," said the forward, who admitted he barely managed it. "Normally I know after taking two breaths, but not this time."

Ajax goalkeeper Marc ter Stegen tried to disrupt Weghorst's concentration as he prepared to take the penalty. "I saw him moving around a lot beforehand, which made me feel I wanted to react to him a bit more," explained Weghorst, who would not reveal much else about his approach. "Of course, I can't give too much away about how I arrive at it, because that wouldn't be helpful next time."

Although Twente had to wait until deep into injury time to equalise, Weghorst felt his side deserved more. "I feel we took control fairly soon after the 0-1 and essentially kept it throughout the match," he said. "We were very dominant, played well on the ball and created lots of chances and opportunities through our build-up play and pressing."

Referee Joey Kooij also drew Weghorst's criticism for stopping play over a possible handball by the striker just as FC Twente looked threatening. "It absolutely hit my hand, but I was also definitely knocked off balance and given a push," he explained. Weghorst's main objection was to the timing of the whistle. "I think a bit of football sense was missing there, because I thought: let the move play out first."

At the post-match press conference, Weghorst revealed that Kooij had personally apologised for blowing his whistle when he did. "He said to me after the match: 'Sorry, sorry, but someone was shouting in my ear: stop, stop, stop play,'" the forward said. Weghorst said the referee was frustrated too: "I think he was fairly angry about it himself, but it's clear it wasn't a good decision."

Weghorst and Ajax striker Tolu Arokodare sought each other out after the final whistle. They had met when Weghorst played for Burnley and Tolu for KRC Genk, and had stayed in touch. "It's not as though we've been in contact every week, of course, but we have kept in touch, especially a bit more in recent weeks, including conversations about the Lord and how you experience and do things," said Weghorst.

"We both felt that, out of gratitude, we should take a moment together and pray," Weghorst said of his exchange with Tolu. "We actually do that all the time, every day; it's part of our lives." He added: "This time we thought it would be nice to do it here and bring what has been a special match to a close together."