'What a bummer' - Holland beat U.S. on single Robben goal
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International
Friendly
Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam
Wednesday, 18 February, 2004 |
Ho-hum... After much anticipation, the Holland vs United
States friendly was largely a dull, disappointing game, won by
the hosts (1-0) on an Arjen Robben goal. One of the few bright
spots was Johnny Heitinga, who played a fine match from
beginning to end at right back in his debut for his country and
as Ajax's
99th player in Oranje. Another Ajax defender, Nigel de
Jong, was called up for the first time but did not appear in
the game.
Sadly, Ajax and U.S. player John O'Brien was unable to
appear in what would have been a very special night for him,
due to a slight hamstring injury picked up in training on
Friday. "What a bummer," the American said, after confirming on
Wednesday that he would not play in the match.
Debutante Johnny Heitinga in duel
with USA's Eddie Lewis. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
Despite a lukewarm, half-hearted effort by the Dutch, the
U.S. seemed only a shadow of the team that streaked their way
into the World Cup quarter-finals one and a half years ago.
This was the U.S. team of old, full of determination but
lacking the quality needed to match up with a major European
side. Other than a couple of chances late in the second half,
the U.S. team had to content itself with tenacious defending as
Holland enjoyed lopsided possession.
The game's only goal came from the most likely spot, as
Arjen Robben had been abusing the right side of the U.S.
defense all evening. In the 56th minute, Robben took a leading
pass from his PSV teammate Wilfred Bouma, shook off a frantic
but ineffectual Frankie Hedjuk, and slammed the ball past Kasey
Keller.
Arjen Robben celebrates his
2nd-half goal against the USA. [Photo: ANP]
That was the only goal, but there could have been more. In
just the 5th minute, the U.S.'s Eddie Lewis made a blind back
pass directly to Andy van der Meyde, who collected the ball and
charged toward Keller's goal. He decided to shoot instead of
playing across to Ruud van Nistelrooy and Arjen Robben, who
were marked only by one U.S. defender. Van der Meyde's shot
sailed over the bar. It was the beginning of a very poor night
for him.
If Van der Meyde was bad, Van Nistelrooy was worse. The
Manchester United striker actually found the back of the net
twice, but was judged to be off-side on his disallowed goal in
the 12th minute, and was guilty of a volleyball-spike handball,
poorly disguised as a header, in another disallowed goal in the
36th minute. As this was just a friendly, the Norwegian referee
saw fit to show him a yellow card only. But the moment of poor
sportsmanship on this occasion will likely draw some criticism
from a Dutch press already inclined to find fault with his
performance on the night. In addition to the intentional
handball, Van Nistelrooy was guilty of two rather ugly
challenges on Claudio Reyna, the latter causing the U.S.
captain to leave the game with a sprained ankle midway through
the second half.
Other Ajax players in the game included Wesley Sneijder and
Rafaël van der Vaart, though neither player did much to
improve their reputations at the international level. Van der
Vaart in particular was invisible for large parts of the game.
Sneijder had a few moments of good football, but compared to
his blinder performance against Scotland, this was a completely
forgettable game. For instance, Sneijder took all six of
Holland's first-half corner kicks, but none were dangerous.
Rafael van der Vaart dribbles
past USA's Landon Donovan. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
Holland's first really bright moment came from the most
unlikely of sources, when Jaap Stam carried the ball past five
U.S. players before engaging in a clever give-and-go with
Robben. The PSV winger's shot on goal was the first real test
for Keller, who did well to stop the shot but left it in a
dangerous position. The ball was cleared by Carlos Bocanegra
just before Van Nistelrooy pounced. Robben and Stam, who
combined so well on the play, were the best players for Holland
on the night.
Other than Stam's stampede through the U.S. defense, there
weren't many positives for the Dutch side to take from the
first half. And beyond Robben's goal early in the second half,
there wasn't a lot for the Oranje fans to cheer about for the
rest of the night, either. Indeed, it was the young guns of the
U.S., DaMarcus Beasley and Bobby Convey, who created the best
scoring chances. But the MLS-based players are not in
mid-season form, and it showed in the finishing, or rather the
lack of finishing. Although Beasley's shots forced saves from
Edwin van der Sar, neither really made the most of the
opportunities. (JM)
GOAL
Referee: Overbrø (Norway)
Yellow cards: Van Nistelrooy (Netherlands)
Attendance: 29,700
The Netherlands line-up: Van der
Sar; Heitinga, Stam, Cocu (72. Zenden),
Bouma (80. F. de Boer); Sneijder (46. Van Bommel), Van der
Vaart, Davids (46. Seedorf); Van der Meyde (46.
Makaay), Van Nistelrooy (80. Van
Hooijdonk), Robben.
United States line-up: Keller; Hejduk
(85. Cherundolo), Berhalter,
Bocanegra, Gibbs; Convey, Armas, Reyna
(72. Wolff, 72), Lewis (46. Beasley); McBride
(61. Mathis), Donovan.
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