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Substitute Sibon saves Holland from looking
silly
Sunday 10 August 2008
Gerald Sibon saved Holland from
looking very silly tonight when he scored an extra time-equalizer
against the USA at the Olympics.
Sibon had come on ten minutes from
the end, together with Roy Makaay.
The duo was sent out to save a
Dutch team lost at sea, being 2-1 down.
Their entry didn't change anything
about the dismal display of the Dutch team in the second
half, but when the referee awarded Sibon a freekick
for being fouled on the edge of the box, the tall forward
swept the ball under the wall and into the net: 2-2.
By doing so Holland escaped an
early flight home and now actually has very good chance
of progressing to the round of the last eight.
A 2-0 victory over the already
eliminated Japanese on Wednesday will be enough for
Holland to progress.
It was strange to see how the course
of the game changed throughout the 90 minutes.
The men of Foppe de Haan had started
furiously and seemed to run over the USA - filled with
mainly MLS-players - in the first half hour.
But then the Dutch ran out of air.
The USA profited from their opponents
apparent physical weakness in the second half and scored
two to take the lead.
In the 65th minute eternal talent
Freddy Adu - great dribbles, no finish - sent midfielder
Sacha Kljestan on his way to Kenneth Vermeer.
Kew Jaliens seemed able to snatch
the ball from the American, but his effort was halfhearted
and Kljestan slotted home:1-1.
Holland were then inviting trouble
to come their way.
Defending was sloppy, build up
play was inaccurate and none of the Dutch midfielders
was able to get in the driver seat and steer his team
clear of the imminent danger.
Instead it was the impressive US-captain
McBride who determined the pace of the game.
After one of his headers had caused
Vermeer some trouble the Dutch defense seemed scared
almost of any high ball coming into the box.
Ten minutes after Kljestan's equalizer
another high cross almost caused panic in the Dutch
defense.
Michael Orozco made full use of
the Dutch disarray and found substitute Jozy Altidore
with a low, hard drive into the goal mouth: 1-2.
Holland were now in dire straits
and unnecessarily so.
They could and should have sealed
the game before the break, and even in the second half
- still at 1-0 - Royston Drenthe provided Hedwiges Maduro
with a clear header in front of an open goal.
But under no pressure and with
no goal keeper blocking his way Maduro hit the side
of the net.
On the other side Oranje were happy
that Kenneth Vermeer - number 3 at Ajax - kept a clear
head though the chaos his defenders created in front
of him.
Had he not then Sibon's goal might
have been only for statistics.
But Vermeer did and so Holland's
chances are still much alive.
A 2-0 victory over Japan on Wednesday
will secure them a place in the next round no matter
what the result of Nigeria vs. USA might be.
Holland-USA 2-2
16' 1-0 Babel
64' 1-1 Kljestan
72' 1-2 Altidore
90' 2-2 Sibon
USA: Guzan, Wynne, Edu,
Parkhurst, Orozco, Holden, Bradley, Kljestan, Rogers
(65' Altidore), Adu (80' Feilhaber), McBride
Holland: Vermeer, Zuiverloon,
Jaliens, Marcellis (75' Makaay), Emanuelson, Beerens
(69' Jong-A-Pin), Bakkal, De Guzman, Maduro, Drenthe
(75' Sibon), Babel
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