by The Dutch fans were in full voice at the final whistle at the Ta’ Qali National Stadium, as the Netherlands beat Austria by four goals without reply. It was a strong performance from the ‘oranje’ as they came back with a vengeance following their narrow 2-1 defeat last week against the same nation.
Four Goals Without Response
The Dutch fielded a strong first eleven, whilst Austria chose to rotate a few star players, most notably Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger and Laura Wienroither. Austrians looked to play from the back, whilst Netherlands look to press high and win the ball high up into the Austrian half.
The tactic worked well for the Dutch who registered their first goal in the 13th minute, thanks to fantastic pressing from the midfield. Austria & Sassualo goalkeeper Isabella Kresche played a forward pass into her midfielder, but Jackie Groenen was toe to toe with the player and managed to get a foot in to push the ball towards Elise Martens. The winger passed across the box to Lineth Beerensteyn who slotted home the goal to put the Netherlands into the lead.
The team had a chance to go two in front just five minutes later when Van De Gragt headed the ball but was just wide of the mark, and the towering defender was deemed offside by the officials. Both Damaris & Pelova threatened to double the score at different stages but were denied.
The second goal came at the 40th minute as Martens drove home a brilliant free-kick from about 20 yards out to the delight of the Dutch crowd, allowing the Netherlands a comfortable lead as they went into the break.
Half-Time Score: Austria 0 – 2 Netherlands
The Netherlands did not lift their foot from the throttle as the second half got underway. On the contrary, they sought even more control of the match, and though Austria attempted to venture forwards beyond the halfway line, the Dutch often came away with the ball comfortably.
The third and fourth goals came quickly. Beerensteyn registered her second goal of the match from a corner. Goalkeeper Kresche will be disappointed not to have done better to hold the ball from Van De Gragt’s original attempt at goal, since the goalkeeper parried the ball straight into the path of Beerensteyn who did not flinch from six yards.
The fourth goal came shortly after and capped off a great team performance. Pelova started the attack by finding Beerensteyn who made a good run into the box and cut back the cross toward Esmee Brugts who found the bottom left corner.
Austria Will Take Positives From First Encounter
The reds had a couple of chances to break early on and got into good crossing positions but often did not have too many options in the box and so most crosses ended in the hands of Van Domselaar.
They were bold in their attempts to play from the back but the side will look to improve their positioning against a high press. It was one of the areas that the Dutch exploited well, most notably to get their first goal in the match. Despite the loss today, the team will not be too disheartened by their performances in Malta, having won the first encounter between the two teams.
The nation did well in the Euro 2022 and only narrowly missed a place in next Summer’s World Cup in Australia & New Zealand. The side will surely take away many positives from the camp in Malta as they look to take themselves to the next level.
A Dutch Delight
The Euro 2017 champions had great support in the stadium. The fans were fully kitted out in their orange attire, with flares and chants to boot. They voiced their cheers loudly as the goals went in and were rewarded with a fantastic performance from their national team players.
Speaking to the media, manager Andries Jonker was delighted with the match outcome, performance of substitutes, and overall display, “We managed to keep playing well for 90 minutes”. He contrasted this to Friday’s performance which the Dutch side looked strong for the first hour or so, but did not punish Austria who punished them.
However, Jonker’s side did not hesitate to find the back of the net today. Concern for goals is understandable considering that they are currently without star forward Vivianne Miedema and who will likely not be able to play a part on the field in the next World Cup due to her ACL injury.
Despite the setback, it seems that Andries Jonker has done well to bring to the fore the next group of players to support the experienced members of the squad. Today’s performance surely does well for the confidence of the team as they set their sights on reaching the latter stages of the tournament in the Summer.
Photo Credit: Netherlands Women
