Saturday, 3 September 2005
by Khachik Chakhoyan
Ruud van Nistelrooij’s goal midway through the second half saved the
Netherlands’ blushes as they scraped a win in Armenia to strenghten
their place at the head of FIFA World Cup qualifying Group 1.
Stylish finish
Manchester United FC striker Van Nistelrooij was kept quiet for most
of the game by some solid Armenian defending, but it took him only
one shot to decide the game in favour of visitors. On 64 minutes
Khalid Boulahrouz crossed into the area, Philip Cocu won the aerial
challenge and when the ball dropped the ball to Van Nistelrooij,
he finished in style.
Berezovski heroics
Goalkeeper Roman Berezovski was undoubtedly the man of the match
for Armenia as he helped to keep the Dutch at bay for most of the
encounter. On eight minutes he denied Van Nistelrooij from a dangerous
shot, while on 31 minutes Dirk Kuyt’s powerful header from point-blank
range was brilliantly saved. Arsenal FC’s Robin van Persie was also
denied by the goalkeeper in the first half.
Armenia blow
Armenia were dealt a blow when they lost their young star Edgar
Manucharyan, after a bright start, to a 17th-minute injury. Ara
Hakobyan came on to form a duo with his brother Aram and had the home
side’s best chance just three minutes after coming on, just failing
to connect after Cocu misjudged a header back to his own goalkeeper.
Dutch top
On Wednesday the Dutch hope to reinforce their position further when
they play host to the group’s bottom side, Andorra. Armenia, meanwhile,
travel to the Czech Republic with their hopes of qualification
already over.
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