Jun
21
Speedy Russia through to the semi-finals with win against Holland
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I wasn’t sure if I should write this article to praise Russia’s speedy players and their determination or remind us of the Dutch’s ability to choke during major international competitions. I decided to go with the former because Russia deserve lots of credit for their performance in their quarter-finals game tonight. For the record, Russia defeated Holland 3-1 in extra time. The first 90 minutes of the game ended with the two teams deadlocked 1-1.
Russia were the first to strike early in the second half of the game when Pavlyuchenko opened the score on the 56th minute. This forced Holland to press forward to get the equalizer turning the game into one of the faster-paced games I have watched in the European Championships this year. After Russia missed multiple chances to double their number of goals and with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, Ruud van Nistelrooy scored the equalizer with a diving header from a free kick on the edge of the Russian goal. The late goal forced extra time to be added to the game and to a large degree it looked like the game would be decided on penalty kicks for no other reason that Russia were having many chances but continued to lack good finishing while the Dutch looked tired; Marco van Basten had already made all his substitutions so he had no way of resting any of his players.
Play in extra time continued to be fast-paced with Russia having all the chances including Pavlyuchenko hitting the cross-bar on the 97th minute. Holland tried to pressure and create chances on their own but the speedy Russians continued their endeless counterattacks causing havoc in Holland’s defense. All they needed is one of their strikers to finish one of the many chances to avoid the penalty shootout. And it all came together for Russia 8 minutes before the final whistle when Torbinski scored the winning goal for Russia. With minutes left to play, Netherlands tried for another late goal but it was Russia striking again in the 116th minute with Arshavin giving his team a 2-goal lead and a guaranteed spot in the semi-final game against either Italy or Spain.
What a great game and what a great win for Russia. Moreover, what a huge disappointment this must be for Holland and Marco van Basten who has won the European Championship as a player but won’t be able to do the same as a coach (at least not this year.) After finishing first on the group of Death over Italy and France, I am certain Dutch fans were expecting more from their team in the quarter-finals. It is unfortunate for them that they met a very determined and speedy Russian team who deserve more than anyone else to be in the semi-finals later this week. I hope the Spain versus Italy game tomorrow is as exciting as this one.