Belgium denied in Brussels

Berend Scholten reports from Brussels

Belgium 1-1 Netherlands 
Roy Makaay came off the bench to earn the Netherlands a 1-1 draw from a competitive contest with Belgium that saw both teams finish with ten men.

Strikers find net
Makaay struck the equaliser in the 54th minute to cancel out Wesley Sonck's 38th-minute opener for the home team. Both forwards were big-money movers in the summer with Makaay joining FC Bayern München and Sonck arriving at AFC Ajax.

New look
The Netherlands started the match with an experimental attack, teaming Ajax forward Rafael van der Vaart alongside Ruud van Nistelrooij, with Patrick Kluivert playing in a withdrawn role. For Belgium, Jelle Van Damme was making his first start after one previous appearance as a substitute.

Bright opening
Belgium began the brighter forcing three corners in the first two minutes. Then, in the ninth minute, Thomas Buffel surged down the left and his cross ended up at Sonck's feet, only for the striker to shoot over from ten metres. The Dutch, meanwhile, were struggling to find momentum despite their best attempts to create some openings.

Captain clears
A frustrating period for both teams followed with each side failing to find the killer pass they required. Sonck was the first to wake from the slumber, collecting a pass to race behind the Dutch defence towards goal. He rounded Edwin van der Sar and shot, only to see visiting captain Frank de Boer clear off the line.

Sonck scores
This served to inspire the Netherlands and Clarence Seedorf was then twice denied at the other end. A goal seemed inevitable and it soon came to the delight of the hosts. Eric Deflandre crossed superbly from the right to Sonck, who headed into the goal from five metres.

Dutch changes
The Netherlands made four changes at the break, with Makaay's arrival having the biggest impact. In the 50th minute, the 2002/03 ESM Golden Shoe winner fired in a free-kick which whistled past the top-left hand corner of the net from 18 metres.

Makaay goal
The equaliser came four minutes later. A pass from Phillip Cocu found Makaay who cut in from the left and scored from nine metres. Kluivert could then have given his side the lead six minutes later, only for Van Damme to clear his header on the line.

De Cock off
Sonck then went close with a free-kick before Belgium's hopes of victory were raised in the 78th minute as Cocu was sent off for a second yellow card. Chances were still being created with Belgian substitute Jonathan Walasiak and Kluivert each having chances to win the game at the death. As the final whistle approached, Olivier De Cock was dismissed for a late challenge on Marc Overmars.

On the up
Despite sharing the spoils, both teams will go into their next EURO 2004™ qualifiers in confident mood of making it to Portugal. The Dutch, second in Group 2, welcome Austria on 6 September while Belgium, third in Group 8, receive Croatia on 10 September.