BLOG - 2014 European Under-17 Championship: Netherlands 3-2 Turkey - Match Report
Netherlands 3-2 Turkey - Group A, Matchday One
The Dutch opened the tournament with a 3-2 win over an unlucky Turkey who, with better finishing, could have scored three before half time. After a generally lethargic first half, the Turks took the lead four minutes into the second period through the excellent Enes Unal, but his goal ridded the Dutch of their caution and, after equalising through a penalty, the Dutch substitutes of Ould-Chikh and Nouri gave them the lead. The Turkish mentally wilted before a late fightback where they were unfortunate not to grab a draw in what was a highly entertaining opening match.
It was goalless at the break following a pedestrian Dutch first half performance in which they had a lot of the ball at the back but struggled to bring in their creative players, while they were exposed defensively by the excellent Turkish offence, whose wingers Incedere and Yilmaz made the most of poor full-back play. Unal's skilful hold-up play and movement were a feature throughout and he had the first big chance when, spinning in behind Veendorp, he was cleverly played in by Vatansever's dink but he poked wide on his weaker left foot from the angle of the six yard box. That was immediately followed by the best Dutch chance of the half as the powerful left-winger Berenstein received the ball on the left and shot hard and low at the near post. Cetin saved but turned back into the middle where Slabbekoorn bobbled the ball wide.
Despite occasional moments of skill from Bergwijn and Slabberkoorn the Dutch created little else in the half, with defensive midfielders Schuurman and Van De Beek looking unskilled on the ball and the defenders too often inaccurate with long balls despite clearly being picked for their ball skills rather than defensive. After Slabbekoorn's miss the Turkish controlled the rest of the first period, with the right-back Polat winning his tussle with Berenstein and ably supporting Incedere as they targeted the weak defence. With a significant height advantage they troubled the Dutch from corners and centre-back Ursoy was a continual threat, while they should have scored when Yilmaz thrashed over after a dreadful clearance from Dutch goalkeeper Van Osch. The only contentious decision of the half was Incedere being given a booking for diving after a slinking run that had taken him into the box where he went down under pressure from his full-back.
The second half looked set to follow the pattern of the first as Incedere once again beat his full back and crossed straight at Van Osch, who flailed at the ball and left Unal with a near open goal, but from six yards out his header was blocked by Veendorp. The opener which would ignite an exciting second half came in the aftermath of the following corner as Ursoy, who was still up supporting the attack, won a header at the back post knocking it down for Unal to volley in on the swivel from six yards. In response the Dutch finally began to play with some urgency, though they still relied on long balls and crosses. Turkey held the lead for 10 minutes in which the Dutch created little, but from a Berenstein cross the ball was headed out to Bergwijn on the edge of the area and he beat the centre-back Ciloglu who dived in to concede a penalty. Centre-back Verdonk stepped up to score from 12 yards.
The Dutch substitution which immediately followed greatly improved them as the ineffective Van Der Moot came off for Ould-Chikh and Slabbekoorn, who was starved of the ball, was replaced by Nouri. Bergwijn went up front and they quickly looked a more cohesive team with Ould-Chikh providing a link their attack had previously lacked, while Bergwijn stretched the Turkish who were now far less dangerous, particularly after Incedere had been subbed off at the same time Nouri and Ould-Chikh entered.
The second goal came when Nouri struck powerfully at the top corner from twenty yards and his effort was well saved by Cetin but, as he hadn't in the first half, he couldn't get the ball away from goal and fellow substitute Ould-Chikh was left with a one yard tap-in. The continued Dutch dominance was reflected by the third which arrived six minutes later and stemmed from a rare Turkish corner where they over-committed and tried to play offside against the Dutch counter instead of retreating which left Ould-Chikh with a far easier ball to find fellow substitute Nouri who ran in to cleverly chip Cetin.
The Turkish scored late through substitute Aktay from an lovely Aydogan cross and they should have grabbed an equaliser when their Ursoy-at-the-back-post corner routine meant Yilmaz had a volley from six yards but with a team mate also diving to head it in he shot over.
Neither side will be completely happy with their performances but the Turkish will take belief from their first half showing into the England game, something which for all their positive play they seemed to be lacking at the start with their finishing. The Dutch's first half display will worry coach Maarten Stekelenburg, and the second potentially influence his selection when they play England as substitute Abdelhak Nouri had all the qualities the Dutch were lacking before he arrived.
With thanks to Samuel King, who you can follow on twitter @KingSRV
