Denmark - Netherlands (stage1) Report

Denmark - Netherlands (stage1) Report

A Simon Poulsen own goal and Dirk Kuyt’s late winner earned the Netherlands a deserved 2-0 win over Denmark at Johannesburg’s Soccer City as the Dutch took an early lead in Group E and stretched their long unbeaten run.

Neither side were doing themselves justice at this stage but, of the two, it was the Netherlands who were displaying the greater attacking intent, with Rafael van der Vaart proving a lively deputy for the sidelined Robben. Twice in as many minutes midway through the half, the Real Madrid midfielder turned neatly on the edge of the box to fashion scoring opportunities, but on each occasion was unable to find the target.

The warning signs had been there when, with 28 minutes played, Nicklas Bendtner found space at the back post to head wastefully wide from a measured Dennis Rommedahl cross. Rommedahl himself tried his luck soon after, firing straight at Maarten Stekelenburg at the end of a lightning Danish break, while Thomas Kahlenberg provided the best effort of the half with a flashing left-foot shot that forced a terrific save from the Dutch No1.

However, it is not for nothing that Van Marwijk’s side came into this match on a record 19-match unbeaten sequence, and they took a deserved lead within a minute of the second half commencing. Robin van Persie was the goal’s architect, beating Sorensen to a through ball before curling over an inviting cross that Simon Poulsen, in his attempts to clear, headed across goal, against the back of Daniel Agger and into the net.

The Danes nearly self-destructed again four minutes later when a misplaced pass allowed Van Persie a clear sight of goal, but the Arsenal forward hesitated and Sorensen smothered bravely. Van der Vaart then came close an early contender for goal of the tournament with an audacious flick matched only in quality by Sorensen’s agile save, while Sneijder rattled the crossbar with a deflected 25-yard shot.