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16.08.2006 at 19:30 Lansdowne Road
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Attendance: 42000 |
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Republic of Ireland |
0 - 4
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Holland
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Referee: Mr.T. H. Overbo (Norway). |
Friendly / Prog-match |
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None. |
Huntelaar 24,
Robben 40,
Huntelaar 53,
Van Persie 69, |
Rep of Ireland 0 Holland 4
Match 419
Wednesday 16 August 2007
Stato:Debut for Alan O Brien
The absence of so many of Ireland’s front-line players left them vulnerable to the slick and polished Netherlands in the friendly match at Lansdowne Road.
Netherlands won 4-0 and in the process showed they were possessed of a better-balanced and technically more advanced team who played some devastating football.
Ireland found it difficult to cope with the swift passing game of the Dutch and they spent long minutes chasing the ball without succeeding in getting a touch in the opening half.
Netherlands were calm and assured in their football and in the Chelsea winger, Arjen Robben, and new cap Klaas Jan Huntelaar, they had players who helped un-hinge the Irish defence with superb ball-control and clever foot-work.
They had the ball in the Irish net after just 24 minutes when Van Der Vaart played Robben in from the left for a close-range shot which goalkeeper Paddy Kenny did well to parry. The rebound fell for Huntelaar to knock it into the net but he was whistled back for offside.
They were back within a minute to score the opening goal. A corner from the right by Van Persie was met high in the air by Huntelaar for a header which flew into the roof of the net in the 25th minute.
Ireland’s defence fell again in the 41st minute. Stephen Elliott mis-placed a pass close to the Irish penalty area and Huntelaar heeled the ball into the path of the sprinting Robben and he drove it in with his right foot from 16 yards.
Ireland’s manager Stephen Staunton threw on the youngsters for the second half and in came Alan O’Brien (Newcastle United) for his first cap, Kevin Doyle, Jonathan Douglas and Liam Miller.
Ireland’s strike force must have been the youngest in history with Aiden McGeady wide on the right, Alan O’Brien operating on the left and Kevin Doyle partnering Stephen Elliott at centre-forward.
The Irish played with more energy and drive and were unlucky not to score on a few occasions – Doyle was narrowly over, O’Brien lost a chance when he ran clear but over-carried when a pass to either McGeady or Doyle would surely have yielded a goal and Andy O’Brien forced goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar to a magnificent one-handed save with a header.
But it mattered little as the clinical Dutch capitalised upon their opportunities at the other end.
Huntelaar scored the third in the 55th minute when he took a pass from Van Der Vaart, who looked to be well offside when he ran onto a through ball from Van Persie.
They had their fourth in the 71st minute when Huntelaar, who showed remarkable maturity for such a young and inexperienced player, cleverly turned a ball for Van Persie to drive into the net off the underside of the crossbar.
Ireland’s heaviest defeat at home came when they were beaten 5-0 by Spain in a friendly at Dalymount Park in 1931.
They lost 4-0 to West Germany in November 1985 in another friendly and while the absence of so many of the regulars inevitably impacted hugely upon Ireland’s prospects, the manner of the defeat must have left the Irish management team with much to think about.
Teams:
Republic of Ireland: Kenny; Carr (Doyle 46), Andy O’Brien, O’Shea, Finnan (Stephen Kelly 64); McGeady, Steven Reid (Miller 46), Kavanagh (alan O’Brien 46), Kilbane; Morrison (Jonathan Douglas 46).
Netherlands: Van Der Sar; Heitinga, Ooijer (Jaliens 77), Mathijsen, De Cler (Emanuelson 60); Van Persie, Landzaat (De Jong 46), Schaars (Janssen 83), Robben (Kuyt (46); Van Der Vaart, Huntelaar. |
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