Experimental Dutch ease past Ukraine

Saturday, 24 May 2008

The Netherlands continued their build-up to UEFA EURO 2008™ with a comfortable 3-0 victory against Ukraine at De Kuip in Rotterdam thanks to goals from Dirk Kuyt, Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Ryan Babel.

Experimental team
Dutch coach Marco van Basten, who still has to trim his squad from 26 to 23 players, was missing the injured Robin van Persie and Mario Melchiot while Ruud van Nistelrooy, Arjen Robben, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Edwin van der Sar and Wesley Sneijder have all been given permission to join up with the squad later on.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst started as team captain at left-back, while Orlando Engelaar and Ibrahim Afellay had a chance to prove themselves in midfield. In the 4-2-3-1 system, Engelaar was the holding midfielder with Demy de Zeeuw while Kuyt, not present in the previous two friendlies, on the right of midfield, Afellay on the left, and Rafael van der Vaart playing as an attacking midfielder in support of lone-striker Huntelaar.

Liverpool influence
Kuyt's first international goal in nearly a year put the Netherlands in front when the Liverpool forward headed in Giovanni van Bronckhorst's cross in the 23rd minute.

Kuyt had previously scored in the 2-1 defeat against Switzerland in August 2007.

Seven minutes before the break it was Van der Vaart who was the provider as he found Huntelaar in space and the Ajax striker did not hesitate in firing in the second goal.

The final goalscoring action came 18 minutes into the second half when another Liverpool player, Babel, made it 3-0. The winger had only come on one minute earlier for Afellay but he controlled a beautiful Van der Vaart pass on his chest before finding the net.

There was some doubt about the ball actually having passed the goal line.

TV-replays were unconclusive, but as the Swiss linesman indicated the ball had passed the line Babel's goal counted.

"We started well," Van der Vaart said. "New guys were there and it went well. It was a good test."

Liverpool's Andriy Voronin almost scored for Ukraine a minute into the second half following a defensive lapse, but Netherlands goalkeeper Marteen Stekelenburg cleared the ball out of danger.

The host had chances with John Heitinga heading wide and Huntelaar missing the target inside the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Ukraine goalkeeper Vyacheslav Kernozenko also denied Van der Vaart from 30 meters in the 67th.

A stomach virus forced reserve goalkeeper Henk Timmer to withdraw from a squad which was already without first choice Edwin van der Sar.

The Manchester United goalkeeper will join the squad Monday after helping his side win the European Champions League title on Wednesday.

Welsey Sneijder also will join the the squad on Monday while AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf has opted out.

The Netherlands, which plays Denmark and Wales in two additional friendlies, opens its campaign against world champion Italy on June 9. France and Romania also are drawn in the same group.

Netherlands: Stekelenburg, Ooijer, Heitinga (Boulahrouz 62), Bouma (Mathijsen 73), Van Bronckhorst (De Cler 62), Kuyt, De Zeeuw (De Jong 73), Van der Vaart (Landzaat 79), Engelaar, Afellay (Babel 62), Huntelaar.

Ukraine: Kernozenko, Yezersky (Gay 46), Mandzioek, Chigrinsky, Nesmachnyi, Yarmash, Tymoschuk, Nazarenko (Kravchenko 75), Golaido (Kalynychenko 46), Voronin, Shevchenko (Seleznyov 67).

Referee: Circhetta (Swi)
Attendance: 40,000