The Czech Republic snatched a last-gasp 2-1 win over the Netherlands thanks to Vaclav Pilar’s stoppage-time goal after a dreadful mistake by Daryl Janmaat in their opening Euro 2016 qualifier on Tuesday.
Defender Janmaat attempted to cushion a header back to Jasper Cillessen inside the penalty area, but it beat the goalkeeper and struck the post, only for Pilar to tuck the rebound into the net to the delight of the home fans watching the Group A clash.
“Three to five minutes before the end of the game, I would have taken a draw,” Czech coach Pavel Vrba said. “All my players tackled well and gave good individual performances. I can’t single anybody out because it wouldn’t be fair to the others.”
Photo: EPA
The Czech Republic had started brightly and were rewarded in the 22nd minute when David Lafata controlled a cross into the area, before laying it off to Borek Dockal, whose left-foot shot slammed off the post into the net to give the hosts the lead.
The Netherlands, third-place finishers at the World Cup finals in Brazil, responded with Stefan de Vrij driving a header into the back of the net after a cross from Daley Blind in the 55th minute.
The hosts kept their shape at the start in an effort to blunt a Netherlands attack missing several key players, including Arjen Robben, who was out with an ankle injury.
The visitors began taking more control in the second half, but they could not beat Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech for a winner as both sides pressed forward.
The hosts, who had struggled in recent matches, always looked dangerous on the break and scored when the Netherlands mix-up gave them a dream start to their campaign.
The result also gave Vrba, who took over following the hosts failure to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil, his first victory at the helm.
The match was Guus Hiddink’s first competitive game in charge since his return to the national side after Louis van Gaal stepped down to take charge of Manchester United.
The coach bemoaned the mistakes that led to the winning goal and said the loss of Robben deprived his team of the ability to really pressure the Czech Republic on the wings.
“The Czechs played well,” Hiddink said. “We have to learn our lesson, but it is too soon to analyze what happened. It [the winner] was an unlucky goal, but the system doesn’t matter if you make individual mistakes.”
The loss made Hiddink the first Netherlands national manager to lose his first two games since his previous reign in 1995.
In other Group A matches, Kazakhstan and Latvia played out a 0-0 draw, while Iceland beat 10-man Turkey 3-0 to go top of the group on goal-difference.
In Reykjavik, Jon Dadi Bodvarsson scored in the 18th minute and Iceland’s task of defending the lead was made easier when Omer Toprak was sent off in the 59th minute after being shown his second yellow card.
Gylfi Sigurdsson doubled the lead in the 76th minute and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson completed the scoring a minute later.
Additional reporting by AP
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Erling Haaland on Sunday scored twice to propel Manchester City up to second in the English Premier League with a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries started the day in second thanks to the longest unbeaten run in the English top flight, but Andoni Iraola’s side were undone by the scintillating form of the Norwegian striker, who took his tally to 13 Premier League goals in 10 games. Haaland’s relentless streak is maintaining City’s title challenge as they reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal back to six points and edged one point ahead of Liverpool, who they face at the weekend. “Important
Yesterday morning in Japan began with a palpable buzz after the Los Angeles Dodgers announced Shohei Ohtani would start Game 7 of the World Series. By the time countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivered the final out, Tokyo was erupting with joy. “I am so proud today to be Japanese,” said cab driver Seiichiro Okada, who pulled his car to the side of the road to watch the ending. “To be able to watch these legends in real time is something else.” Ohtani had two hits and also pitched, while Yamamoto earned World Series Most Valuable Player after yet another stellar pitching performance as the
RSS