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 My heart goes out to you | I am pig sick! There's no use going on and on about it, I know. We all saw the match, no doubt. All realised that the Czechs came with a perfect game plan. All realised (even you Dutch fans - please!!) that the Czechs deserved, without a shadow of a doubt to win the game and that the Dutch were really very, very poor. But nobody reckoned on Collina, did they??? Well, perhaps it was a penalty, but hells a-popping - did he really HAVE to give it?!?!!?!?!?!? Hit posts; hit bars; off the lines; bad misses - oh, I feel SO SORRY for the poor Czechs - and how must dear Pata have felt up in the stands???? Anyway, there is a match report from another place at the bottom of the page for anybody fancying the torture of reliving the match - I couldn't bear to do it!! |  What a scary pair Koller and Stam make! |
Tough guy of the match: Stam, having his eye fixed.
Teams and things
Match report from the Times
THEIR supporters had turned the Amsterdam ArenA into a vast and vibrant grove of brilliant orange but Holland's attempt to live up to the expectations that have been foisted on them by their legions of admirers began only with the most fortuitous and unjust of escapes against the Czech Republic here last night.
Sex god of the match: Tie. Reiziger/Collina
Biggest turn on of the match: Them Czech shorts!!!!! :)
HOLLAND (4-4-1-1): 1 E van der Sar (Juventus) - 2 M Reiziger (Barcelona), 3 J Stam (Manchester United; sub: 13 B Konterman, Feyenoord, 75min), 4 F de Boer (Barcelona), 12 G van Bronckhorst (Rangers) - 6 C Seedorf (Internazionale; sub: 16 R de Boer, Barcelona, 57), 8 E Davids (Juventus), 7 P Cocu (Barcelona), 5 B Zenden (Barcelona; sub: 11 M Overmars, Arsenal, 79) - 10 D Bergkamp (Arsenal) - 9 P Kluivert (Barcelona). Substitutes not used: 18 E de Goey (Chelsea), 22 S Westerveld (Liverpool), 14 P van Vossen (Feyenoord), 15 P Bosvelt (Feyenoord), 17 P van Hooijdonk (Vitesse Arnhem), 19 A Numan (Rangers), 20 A Winter (Ajax), 21 R Makaay (Deportivo La Coruña). Booked: F de Boer.
CZECH REPUBLIC (4-5-1): 1 P Srnicek (Sheffield Wednesday) - 3 R Latal (Schalke 04; sub: 13 R Bejbl, Atlético Madrid, 70), 19 K Rada (Slavia Prague), 2 T Repka (Fiorentina), 21 P Gabriel (Sparta Prague) - 8 K Poborsky (Benfica), 4 P Nedved (Lazio), 7 J Nemec (Benfica), 11 T Rosicky (Sparta Prague), 17 V Smicer (Liverpool; sub: 9 P Kuka, VfB Stuttgart, 83) - 10 J Koller (Anderlecht). Substitutes not used: 16 L Maier (Rapid Vienna), 22 J Blazek (Sparta Prague), 5 M Fukal (Sparta Prague), 6 P Vlcek (Sparta Prague), 12 V Lokvenc (Sparta Prague), 14 P Horvath (Slavia Prague), 15 M Jankulovski (Banik Ostrava), 18 J Novotny (Sparta Prague). Booked: Repka, Nedved. Sent off: Latal.
Sent off: Latal, 90
Referee: P Collina (Italy).
Softened up by some ruthless tackling by the Czech Republic in the first half, Holland were then outplayed throughout the second as their opponents showed why they had won all ten of their qualifying ties. Twice in the closing 45 minutes, the Czechs were cruelly denied after headers by Pavel Nedved, the game's outstanding player, and Jan Koller, their beanpole striker, came back off the woodwork.
Then, as the game seemed to be heading towards a draw, Marc Overmars, a late substitute, sprinted to the byline in the final minute and crossed into the box. Ronald de Boer went down under a harmless challenge from Jiri Nemec and the Italian referee, Pierluigi Collina, awarded a penalty. Frank de Boer, Ronald's twin, smashed it into the roof of the net from the spot.
In the bad-tempered final seconds, Radoslav Latal, who had already been substituted, was sent off, aparently for gesticulating from the bench, and Radek Bjebl missed one last glorious chance to equalise, slicing his shot wide after a nod-down from Koller. The crowd roared its relief, some of the Czech players left the pitch in tears.
In the post-match press conference, Nedved, who has been sent off twice by Collina in Italy, was fighting to control his emotions. "I thought we played a fantastic match," he said. "It's the first time I've lost in such a cruel way. We have prepared for two years and then this happens."
It was a stunning volte-face by the Czechs. In the first half, they had played like thugs, hacking down Dennis Bergkamp, bemused by the surging runs of Edgar Davids and the guile of Patrick Kluivert. In the second half, the Dutch disappeared into their shells, their inspiration and their energy gone, mastered by Nedved and Koller.
The longer that the sterile first half had worn on, though, the more restless the crowd became, the more it seemed likely that the Czech Republic might conjure something from the creative void.
Dutch unease was heightened two minutes after the interval when the Czechs fashioned the best chance of the match so far. Nedved wriggled past Michael Reiziger on the left and his cross squirted across goal to the back post where Karel Poborsky was lurking. Somehow, though, Poborsky contrived to poke it wide of the open goal.
After Jaap Stam had had a fierce free kick beaten out by Srnicek, the Czechs came close again. Nedved turned a ball inside to Koller and his snap shot was pushed out by Van der Sar.
Holland were rattled and with good reason. The Czechs were rampant and they came within inches of taking the lead in the 58th minute when Nedved outjumped Davids and his header bounced off the inside of the post. Van der Sar grabbed it just as it was about to roll over the line. Midway through the second half, the co-hosts were rescued by the woodwork again. This time Poborsky floated a free kick into the area and Koller's flick-on looped over Van der Sar but rebounded to safety off the crossbar.
Even without Stam, taken off with blood streaming from his face after an accidental clash with Koller, Holland survived until their last minute piece of good fortune. In the "group of death", they have had their first brush with the Grim Reaper.
