Holland striker ROBIN VAN PERSIE, the 28-year-old FC Arsenal striker who scored 30 goals in the English top flight this term, came into the game more after the restart and forced alert Germany goalkeeper MANUEL NEUER of Bayern Munich into a flying save with a stinging volley just before the hour. With a little less than twenty minutes remaining, van Persie finally lifted the Dutch back into genuine contention and halved the deficit with a ferocious drive that beat Neuer low to the German’s left. For a shortwhile thereafter, Holland looked as if it might capitalize on the momentum.
But an equalizer never really was on the cards as Germany began to control the ball in earnest while playing a bit of keep away to kill the clock. Holland, having taken off former Bayern Munich ball-winner MARK VAN BOMMEL at halftime, could not come up with a solution to counter that while Huntelaar, who paced the Bundesliga this season with 29 goals for Schalke 04, was well-handled by the German backline.
Germany, who improved its record to 15 wins against 10 losses with 14 ties in matches with the neighboring Dutch since first meeting the Netherlands in April of 1910, has all but assured itself of a place in the quarterfinals with a second consecutive win at Euro 2012. Holland, on the other hand, will have to defeat resurgent Portugal by at least two goals on the third and final day of play in Group B. On top of that positive result, the Dutch will also need the Germans to defeat Denmark, as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment