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day of judgement has arrived - would Holland finally reveal the qualities
we all know they have as individuals and combine them to put on a
performance to be truly proud of? What a start - within two minutes Roy
Keane had left the mark of his boot on Marc Overmars' ankles which got
Kluivert's blood boiling and he replied to the Irish captain's
throwing-down-of-the-gauntlet by committing a foul of his own to make
clear that he wasn't going to be intimidated. The match got off to
a heated and high speed start - Kluivert surged forward in the 3rd minute,
but his attempt went just wide, as Holland reacted to the provocation by
going on the attack! But by the end of the first quarter of an hour a
familiar pattern was emerging once again as Holland failed to follow up
their initial aggression by cashing in on the chances they created - Van
Bommel, Zenden and Kluivert all hadngs but failed to capitalise on
them. In the 25th minute Arthur Numan was accidentally hit in the
face and had to be carried off, reducing Holland to 10 men while the
injured defender was treated. Not only was the over-frequent 'dirty' play
in theng half-hour an unpleasant
sight, but our ears were also 'treated' to bouts of booing when Jaap Stam had the
ball (because of his book and the fact that he's been sacked by Man
United?) while Numan also had his fair share to endure (he's a Glasgow
Rangers player while the Irish are Celtic fans - Rangers are Protestant,
Celtic are Catholic, clear!?). By the last 10 minutes of the 1st half most
of the momentum Oranje had built up in theng 15 minutes had gone and
they were left clutching at the chances that came their way rather than
putting really moves together and imposing themselves on the game. The Irish,
for their part, succeeded in turning the game into the chaotic, churning,
emotional confrontation that they relish in!
The 2nd half continued in the same
fashion - a spirited, if rather scrappy game with
plenty of speed but precious little of the kind of football to warm the
heart. Ian Hart curled a fine freekick from 35 metres out for the Irish
which Van der Sar dealt with in his usual reliable way as the tempo
climbed to new heights and the Dutch got their first real warning! Hasselbaink came on for Zenden as Van Gaal tried
to give his team a little extra firepower. In the 58th minute Kelly got a 2nd
yellow card for a foul on Overmars and got his marching orders - Ireland
were down to 10 men! P-Air came on for Numan as Van Gaal sought to profit from
the advantage in numbers. In the 62nd minute Van Nistelrooy was denied
what, to the Dutch following at least, looked like a
clear penalty when he was impeded by the Irish goalie. The dreaded shock
finally arrived in the 68th minute as the Irish got the goal that had threatened
for so long as the unmarked Jason McAteer slotted home a simple looking
ball. Holland were being shown that spirit and the will-to-win more than
compensate for a lack of the 'skills' that the Dutch definitely possess but
have had such 'enormous' problems displaying at international level. Van Bronckhorst
replaced Overmars as things began to look desperate for Oranje - they tried
and they tried to get a ball in the net but it just wasn't happening!
Holland's whole game plan was now in ruins - the high ball being
practically the only way they could think of to get the ball to Van
Hooijdonk and Kluivert in the area, but both strikers were completely
ineffective today. It was a strange sight to see Hasselbaink pumping those
high balls in from the right wing - what was he doing there - he wasn't
going to score from out there and he didn't! As the last 10 minutes ticked
away the Dutch threw everything into attack but it made no difference.
Holland's dream of the World Cup is over - a victim of their own
nonchalance and arrogance in earlier matches while being simply
impotent today. Individual reputation at club level was never going to be
enough to deliver the victories they've let slip out of their grasp all
too often this last year and there's going to be plenty of time for the
inevitable analysis.
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