E-ar lads, ere's a match report i wroted
Holland 1-2 Germany: Gomez continues his assault on his doubters
Holland - 1
Van Persie 73’
Germany - 2
Gomez 24’ 38’
At a time in Football when historical animosity between two nations is at the forefront of our collective minds, there is no finer main course to follow up the appetiser that was Poland v Russia, than Germany v Holland. When wars that are long cast down in to the annals of history are fought via the medium of Football, tempers are prone to rise and spill over. Thankfully unlike the Eastern European clash that preceded it, this coming together of two of Western Europe’s football goliaths was contested exclusively between the white lines.
In the wake of Portugal’s dramatic late winner against Denmark, Holland were all too aware that defeat, in this, the second game of ‘the group of death’ could all but hammer the final nail in their Euro 2012 coffin. But if The Oranje felt the weight of a nations impending horror on their shoulders there was no sign of it as the opening stages of the game unfurled in front of what turned out to be 3 sets of supporters in the Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv. As on 3 separate occasions the Dutch found a soft spot in the German defence. The tool used to discover this chink in the armour were three high balls over the top, Robin van Persie receiving first on the right, then the through the middle, then down the left. It was the one through the centre, a superb ball from van Bommel, possibly his only worthwhile contribution of the match, that resulted in the Arsenal strikers best chance of the game. But the 30 goal forward could not find his league form of last season, instead he found only a continuation of his nervous display against Denmark, and faced with a 1 on 1 with Germany’s Manuel Neuer, he could only shoot straight at the Bayern man, to squander what would have been a glorious start for the Dutch.
As though to fit a script, there was a polar opposite to van Persie’s tale of misery, as in the 24th minute Mario Gomez, largely criticised for his performance in the Champions League final last month, was laying more demons to rest after his goal against Portugal on Saturday night. During what was as thus far a rare exploration in to the final third, space was to be found wherever the Germans desired, and they clinically took advantage of the offering their old rivals served up. As Everton’s Jonny Heitinga lazily drifted away from Gomez on the edge of the box, Bastian Schweinsteiger sensed his opportunity, quickly sliding a ball in to his club team mates feet, Gomez then spun with grace many would think him not to posses and coolly slotted home to jam Germany’s foot in the door of the next round.
Despite perhaps being outplayed where it actually mattered, Holland retained a slight advantage in the possession stats, but to no effect, the opener seemed to have flattened their spirits, and their dream of a second major tournament win with it. The game chugged along at a pleasant pace, Holland controlling in the middle of the field, often with nice interplay between their much criticised midfield selections, but the truth in the voices of the assenters seemed to ring in Dutch ears as soon as they reached the final third. Sneijder provided guile and invention, Robben was simply Robben, selfish but dangerous, but past these positives the negatives were there on display for all to see, for an entire continent to nod in agreement to. Afellay was simply a ghost, his only action underplaying a cross along the floor which would have given van Persie a chance he could surely not pass up. The 2 holding midfielders were static in their work, contributing very little to the attacking side of the game. And when in the 38th minute Schweinsteiger was once again afforded copious amounts of space to do his bidding by the 2 anchor men, Bert van Marwijk’s mind was made up for him, at half time the orange clad section of the crowd would get their wish. But not before the fruits of Schweinsteiger's labour ripened, as he once again found Gomez, this time at the right side of the box, and he made it 2 with a sumptuous curling finish past Stekelenberg.
One could be forgiven for thinking that at least in theory, both teams were playing the same formation, as Holland's more rigid set-up was in stark contrast to the movement and flair of Germany’s counter attacking verve. Schweinsteiger and Khedeira joined the attack whenever appropriate, Mesut Ozil tunneled from side to side, surfacing with the ball seemingly wherever his heart desired. Some feared before the tournament that Gomez’ stationary style would limit Germany’s game, but there was no evidence of such a theory on display. Podolski was quiet but went about his job with enthusiasm. Muller linked well with Ozil down the right on countless occasions.
As the teams emerged for the second half the writing for Mark van Bommel's international career was not on the wall, but on the arm of Rafael van der Vaart, who appeared wearing the captains armband, very possibly signalling an end to a prestigious, if not masterful time representing his country for van Bommel. He was joined on the bench by Ibrahim Afellay, who was replaced by Klaas-jan Huntelaar, who many had clamoured for to start. A Dutch resurgence was hoped for rather than expected, but it appeared a world away not long after the restart when Matts Hummels surged from the back and the Orange sea parted with worrying ease in his path, but the defender was only able to shoot straight at Neuer, he then demanded a second save out of Neuer, but the danger passed without any real blow being struck. There was a whipping long range shot from Wesley Sneijder but not much more to stir the Dutch crowd. The match seemed to lose intensity both on and off the pitch, Ukrainian fans could be heard chanting their own country’s name in the absence of significant noise from the participating teams followings.
The game seemed all but over on 70 minutes, the days hero Gomez left the pitch to be replaced by international tournament specialist Miroslav Klose and it seemed Germany would diligently play out the rest of the game. But a couple of minutes later in the 73rd minute, just as the football world was prepared to question Robin van Persie’s big occasion mettle, he gave his floundering campaign a shot in the arm when he turned and ran at the now well settled German defence. He found his way to the edge of the box and lashed a powerful shot low beyond Neuer to restore belief in his team mates. Pressure was then exerted in sporadically, but no bombardment materialised, and when Arjen Robben was subbed off for Dirk Kuyt 7 minutes from the end, it seemed to anyone watching that would be all. And it was.
Holland now need a favour from their conquerors against Denmark to have any hope of qualifying, as well as doing their own job against a Portugal side that proved their credentials just a few hours before. But to hope for such a positive result given their defensive deficiencies would be bordering wishful thinking. Germany meanwhile sit pretty at the top of the group with 6 points from 6, and though they could still find themselves crashing out should results massively conspire against them, they’re a safe bet in anyone’s book to go far, if not all the way.
Arsenal fans are so pitiful.
