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| Holland
did it! Surprise win in Spain 2 - 1 |
15 Nov 2000
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| The
Dutch caught Spain by surprise in Sevilla with goals by Hasselbaink and
Frank de Boer. Holland began nervously, allowing Spain to take contol of
the midfield and launch attacks at will. Van Gaal had been forced to
completely reshuffle his deck of players with so many regulars injured and
even introduce a 4-4-2 system to compensate. Van der Sar was in goal,
despite his lack of form at Juventus, Kevin Hofland was making his
debut, the 4-4-2 meant Hasselbaink had been called up again (thank
goodness), Frank de Boer was collecting his record 85th cap and Mario
Melchiot was making his 2nd international appearance (and making a good
impression). Back to Spain, who were putting the Dutch under pressure in
the 1st half, playing attractive football and radiating confidence. In the
1st 30 minutes Raul had theng chance for them but Van der Sar was
having nothing of it, while only Hasselbaink looked dangerous for Holland.
Holland started to get more of a grip on things after that and Kluivert
had a great chance to score but it went wide (Hasselbaink would have put
it away). Holland were unable to disrupt the Spanish onslaughts which
increased in number as the 1st half drew to a close - Mendieta, in
particular, constantly feeding balls up front or looming large in front of
Oranje's
goal. Spain began the 2nd half with 4 substitutions but continued to show
cohesion as a team, keeping the Dutch on the defensive. Their better play
was rewarded in the 65th minute - Davids committed a foul on the edge of
the penalty area and Hierro hit a wonderful freekick into the left hand
corner of the net. A little relaxation by the Spaniards gave Holland the
chance to strike back in the 73rd minute when De Boer fed Makaay a ball
who headed it on to Hasselbaink- a split second was enough time for him to
slice the ball between the defenders legs, across goal and into the net.
Minutes later Hasselbaink was heading for the dressing room along with
Hierro after a totally unnecessary confrontation (a little kick here and a
head butt there). The reduction to 10 men on both sidesd up the game
and made for an exciting end to the match. Seedorf's rather wild shot at
goal gave Oranje a corner from which De Boer crowned his 85th appearance
with a smartly timed header to give Holland a long awaited victory over
Spain. Van Gaal was visibly pleased and so will be the fans. |
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