Netherlands defeat Denmark 2-0

The Dutch,boasting of a star-studded line up,were hardly convincing in their win in a match which seldom rose to great heights.

The Netherlands rode on a huge slice of luck to go into the lead barely a minute after the interval,courtesy a self goal from Denmark’s Jakob Poulsen.

It turned out to be a bizarre goal which was the result of a move initiated by Robin van Persie who managed to dribble past a few defenders and cross the ball from the left wing.

Poulsen got his head to the ball,which hit the back of his teammate Daniel Agger before going into the goal.

The goal came as a big let down for the Danes who put up a spirited display to keep their much superior opponents,ranked fourth in the current FIFA rankings,on a leash for most part of the opening half.

The Dutch sealed the fate of their opponents in the 85th minute,capitalising on a defensive lapse.

The goal-bound move was initiated by Eljero Elia whose 10-yard shot was tipped to the post by the Denmark custodian Thomas Sorensen. Off the rebound,Kuyt tapped in from close,much to the delight of his teammates.

Both the teams appeared a trifle tentative in the early stages of the proceedings as they gauged each other’s defence with a few exploratory raids.

But after 10 minutes of so,both the teams accelerated the pace of the game and the barren opening session was more or less evenly contested with brisk attacks and counter attacks.