Dutch delight as Czechs exit

By Greg Demetriou at the CEZ Arena

The Netherlands stunned the host nation with a superb victory although neither will be in action in the semi-finals of the 2005 UEFA European Futsal Championship.

Both out
The result, and Ukraine's 2-1 success against Russia in the other Group A contest, means both these sides will finish out of the qualification places for tomorrow's semi-finals, with the Dutch leapfrogging the Czechs into third place. The Czech Republic were once again without Roman Mareš, who picked up a knee injury in their opening fixture. The Dutch were able to recall veteran Edwin Grünholz after an ankle injury, and his years of experience would pay dividends.

Merlino breakaway
The Netherlands silenced the home fans after just three minutes when Antoine Merlino broke free and scored before David Levcík could close him down. It was the first real effort on goal - but the home fans were not to be kept quiet for too long and a slow handclap soon filled the air from all corners of the arena.

Ngarigota in-form
The hosts' first opening came when Michal Mareš's free-kick was blocked by the imposing Dutch goalkeeper Patrick Thomassen. At the other end, Joey Ngarigota was in superb form and his chipped pass to Samir Makhoukhi in the seventh minute created the easiest of goals.

Fading fast
The Czechs' hopes of emulating Italy's title-winning achievement as hosts in 2003 were fading fast. However, the crowd finally sparked to life when Martin Dlouhý strode through the middle, feinted past Grünholz, and scored with a low shot.

Own goal
However, seconds later the Dutch were back to a two-goal advantage when Czech player Tomáš Šluka put through his own net under pressure. It became 3-1 when Makhoukhi raced away down the left and crossed for the unmarked Dick Hulshorst to score. The Czechs pulled another one back in the 15th minute through Mareš after Daniel Rajnoch had squared a free-kick.

Rajnoch piledriver
Rajnoch then surged forward in the 24th minute before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the net. It gave fresh hope to the crowd with sirens, buzzers and whistles sounding whenever they got close to the Dutch goal. Thomassen was standing firm though, using his huge frame to keep out the Czech attacks.

Off target
Both coaches used their time-outs in the closing stages but it was to lead to no further scoring. It was not for the want of trying, with several shots reigning in on both goalkeepers as the minutes ticked away.

Starting lineup
Netherlands: Patrick Thomassen, Antoine Merlino, Dick Hulshorst, Cornelis Thies and Joey Ngarigota.
Czech Republic: Jan Klíma, Vit Blazej, Daniel Rajnoch, Michal Mareš and Jaroslav Kamenický.