Group C
Netherlands 1, Serbia & Mont. 0The orange fans ruled the stands, and winger Arjen Robben did the same on the field.
The Netherlands relied on the speed of Robben to get an opening 1-0 win over Serbia and Montenegro on Sunday. The win put it in first place along with Argentina in Group C, considered to be the toughest of the first round.
Instead of using the counterattack as it promised, Serbia and Montenegro was caught by it instead. In the 18th minute, Mark van Bommel fed the ball to Robin van Persie and the winger delicately lobbed it over the defense toward Robben.
No one could match Robben's pace and despite some desperate tugging at his shirt, the Chelsea player coolly slipped the ball under Serbia goalkeeper Dragoslav Jevric.
"I was lucky he was on our side today," Netherlands coach Marco van Basten said. "We always create a lot of chances, but not a lot of goals."
It was all the Dutch fans needed to start a party, and half the crowd at the 43,000-capacity Zentral Stadion was heaving with orange -- the color of the Dutch shirts.
Besides the goal, Robben was uncatchable under a scorching sun and made sure the opponents always had to keep plenty of people back. Little surprise he was chosen Man of the Match.
It is the first time the Netherlands has won a World Cup match by scoring only one goal.
"This is a very important victory," Netherlands midfielder Phillip Cocu said. "Especially since the Argentines won, too."
The South Americans beat Ivory Coast 2-1 on Saturday. It was a bitter blow to Serbia, which had dominated the opening spell, but badly neglected its vaunted defense.
The Netherlands, one of the few nations playing a 4-3-3 set at the World Cup, kept its attack open through its wingers and quickly regrouped once the Serbs had the ball. At times, Van Persie and Robben switched sides to dumbfound the opposing team.
Serbia and Montenegro picked a very defensive lineup and had to switch tactics early on. In the end, it failed to match the individual class of the Dutch forward line.
Manchester United forward Ruud Van Nistelrooy had leaned heavy on the Serb defense but his finishing touch was off. He was replaced with 20 minutes to go.
The Dutch defense, often considered the weak link in the lineup, held together until the end under the leadership of Andre Ooijer and Joris Mathijsen.
Van Basten said he was fortunate the players didn't wilt in the heat. When he was sponging his face on the sidelines, his players were running on the field in temperatures approaching 30oC.
"You could see we were very tired," Van Basten said.
Even though Serbia and Montenegro pushed until the end, it failed to get the goal it wanted. It next faces Argentina, while the Netherlands plays Ivory Coast on Friday.
Serbia and Montenegro coach Ilija Petkovic was forced to replace standout defender Nemanja Vidic because of suspension and started with Nenad Djordjevic instead of Ognjen Koroman, a defensive midfielder.
Serbia and Montenegro captain Savo Milosevic, making his 99th international appearance, was replaced at halftime after a disappointing performance. Petkovic added Nikola Zigic at the center of attack.
The Serbs pushed in the second half, but little came from it. Even free kick specialist Dejan Stankovic was off target, as the Inter Milan midfielder proved when he sent one far over from outside the box in the 65th minute. Substitute Koroman came close a few minutes later when he forced Van der Sar into a low diving save.
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