LiveBlog: Serbia and Montenegro-Netherlands

Netherlands 1-0 Serbia & Montenegro
Solid result from the Dutch and a much needed win first up. Arjen Robben shined but apart from the goal there was not much to cheer for the Oranje. Serbia & Montenegro had one lapse in defense and paid the price for some unadventurous attack play. Thanks for all the comments on this LiveBlog and see you next time.

Full-Time: Dutch win on Robben’s 18 minute strike. Good result for them, but far from a convincing display. Was it good, stifling defense by the Fearsome Foursome or a lack of ideas from the Dutch. I don’t see the Plavi doing much in this tournament if they aren’t willing to attack with any real purpose and the Dutch will have to find a way to score more than a single goal.

The most important stat of the day: Sepp Sightings 2 d. Beckanbauer Sightings 1

92:35 – Saw a close up of Gavrancic and I reckon he’s a starter for the World Cup Ugly Eleven.

91:26 – Last chance for the Dutch to break out of defense. It doesn’t happen.

89:30 – Robben earns Gavrancic a yellow card by going down like a sack of spuds at the slightest contact. Let’s hope the Dutch don’t score from this.

88:45 – Nice one-two play on the edge of the 18 yard box makes me a liar again. S&M creating a chance.

87:40 – The Dutch are hanging on but S&M not giving much cause for concern. The only thing that will beat the Dutch defense today is the Dutch defense.

85:40 – Mathijsen off for Boulahrouz who plays for Hamburger in Germany. You think he’d play for money like everyone else, but what can you say, the man likes his beef.

84:13 – Heitinga yellow carded for time-wasting. Good on the referee for catching that. I don’t think Heitinga meant it, but you gotta get the ball in play.

82:43 – Van der Sar flopping all over the place with cramps. Dutch players going handbags at dawn with the S&M player who did nothing wrong.

81:33 – van Persie stands over the free kick. Crowd expecting greatness. Nice free kick! all it needed was the slightest touch from Dutch or S&M body in the 6 yard box and it was a goal.

80:10 – Second sighting of Big Sepp in the crowd. He must be happy there’s another nation joing the FIFA family once Montenegro completes their separation from Serbia. Happy day for Sepp.

79:10 – Free kick for the Dutch goes high and wide. Much like the expectations for this Dutch team after this performance. But who wants to peak too early?

76:44 – Mood in the WCB HQ is starting to sway in S&M’s favour. We want a goal and the Dutch don’t look like they really want to score another. Then Robben pops up and makes a liar out of me. He’s on the bench for my men’s league team now.

74:30 – Some sustained Dutch pressure that goes nowhere until Robben makes a nice little run down the left gets the Dutch crowd on their feet and making some more noise. Then things settle back to the odd whislle and air horn. Where do you buy and air horn and do you ever use it anywhere else than the weekend?

70:50 – Some life from S&M. Nice low shot from someone with a name ending in ‘ic’. Van der Sar saves well but the ball pops out. No second chance and now Edwin needs a break since he’s worked so hard today. It’s hot out there in the sun.

68:44 – Ruud van Nistelrooy comes off. The wonderfully named Dirk Kuyt comes on. Doesnt he sound like a character from a Clive Cussler novel? Maybe Dirk could be played by Matthew McConnahey.

68:00 – Game being fought out in the middle of the pitch. Not much action at either end. The last pass before something exciting happens is just missing for both teams.

65:43 – Great tackling by S&M in the middle of the park earns them a free kick after the foul on Krstajic. S&M uses the break in play to sub Kezman who has worked hard for not much result. Ljuboja takes his place.

63:30 – Calls for hand-ball in the Dutch 18 yard box. Replay shows that the arm was not involved. Good call. S&M have a free kick on the edge of the area, but Stankovic stinks it up with his shot well over the bar.

62:48 – Netherlands called offside in their latest attack. They are creating but it does not seem as patient as teams of years past. They seem to be lacking the holding player who can direct play.

60:55 – van Horse-telrooy nearly scores by living in the GK’s pocket. He’s the master at popping up in the 6 yard box and nipping goals.

59:21 – van Bommel coming off to make way for Landzaat for the Dutch.

58:53 – S&M attacking around the Dutch 18 yard box but don’t seem to have any cohesive ideas. Kicks over the head rarely look good unless you’re Thierry Henry.

57:20 – Referee going through a bad spell of popularity with Dutch fans. They’re making the most noise here today. What does a ticket o the train cost from S&M to Germany?

55:40 – Gio gets a booking after a foul at midfield. Looked a little harsh for what amounted to a push in the back. S&M free kick comes to nothing.

54:10 – Wesley Snipes plays a tricky little chip into the area and Robben falls all over himself trying to connect with it. Nice variation when everyone was expecting a blast.

53:35 – Dutch free kick in the right range. Who will take it?

51:10 – Question for the minute: Does Giovanni really want to be Brazilian when he puts ‘Gio’ on the back of his Barcelona jersey? Did van Basten tell him no?

48:40 – Hard to see in the dark but a back pass to Van der Sar nearly chipped him. That would have been a much more exciting own goal than England’s. Can someone turn the lights on at the far side of the field?

47:44 – S&M attacking nicely down the left. All it takes is the right service and this game is even.

45:01 – Second half underway. You don’t get the feeling that this game will end 1-0. My hopes is that it’s S&M so that we have a game of it. Van der Sar picked up a scuffed clearance and S&M appeal for a back pass. Right decision by the referee.

Half-time: Lots of talk in the comments this game about S&M splitting up after this tournament. At my last count they have one Montenegran (Montenegrite?) on the squad. I never thought it was fair that it was two teams against one anyway. No wonder T&T did so well yesterday. Either way it looks like it might be awhile before we see Montenegro qualify for a major tournament again. Personally I’m sad cos I won’t be able to write S&M for purely innocent reasons ever again.

Half-time: Phew! What a first half. Most of the action happening in the WCB HQ with technical difficulties keeping us out of the game for 19 minutes. Missed the goal from Robben but by all accounts a cracker for the young man. Thanks for your patience and let’s hope the second half is just as lively on the pitch.

46:34 – Shot from S&M and the German commentator is roused out of his nap. Nice pace on the ball from Djordjevic but just wide. Last action of the half and it’s time to hit the fridge for more beer.

43:14 – Ognjen Koroman comes on as a substitute for Djordevic. Hard to see if that’s a tactical decision of if Djordevic is hurt.

42:35 – As the first half winds down to a close, haven’t had much reason to mention S&M. Holland dominating possession without really creating many clear-cut chances. Comfortably in control but not inspiring. Still, at least it’s not England v Paraguay, right?

38:22 – Robben is involved in everything. Unlucky to be called offside. He’s only about 24 but looks 40. London life at Chelsea must be aging him. Perhaps he can come play for my men’s league team. We have much more fun.

36:33 – Robben has a nice little run and decent shot. Van Horsetelrooy might have got a touch to direct it goalwards but just missed.

33:40 – Dutch not quite playing Total Football, but this young team has wheels. Robben looking like a Total Footballer in his all Oranje outfit.

33:25 – Two players fall over in the darkness. Your guess is as good as mine who that is.

32:40 – Van Basten using the Magic Sponge. Let’s hope it’s not a serious injury to the great player.

31: 03 – First sighting of Big Sepp at the World Cup. Nice to see him getting buddy-budy with the Kaiser. Anyone else curious just how Beckanbauer is getting to so many games so fast? My theory is cloning.

29:45 – Kezman with a diving header that just flashes wide. S&M asserting themselves more, especially from set pieces. Shadow on the field makes it tough to see the play on the far side of the field. Either that or the beer I’ve drunk is clouding my vision.

27:55 – Hearing the Dutch fans making some noise now. What a fantastic atmosphere it must be in Leipzig. S&M captain Milosevic making a nice run into the box but the header goes well high.

26:27 – Nice free kick from S&M from right in front. The replay shows the Dutch player breaking out of the wall way too early and blocking the shot.

25:03 – S&M pumping long balls into the box. The Dutch defending like you would expect the tallest people in Europe to. Weslel Snipes has a shot at the other end that goes wide.

23:25 – Not seeing much from S&M so far. Dutch still in control. Let’s hope the game stays open with the Dutch looking for more goals.

22:22 – Ruud the Horse is penalized for being a donkey in the tackle.

21:00 – Dutch looking in control. Robben the goalscorer with a scorching shot, well saved. Robben came to play today.

19:11 – Cable back in business but we missed the Dutch goal by about a minute. Back online and looking to liveblog the rest.

1:00 – Game has kicked off. Can’t see it, but imagine the colours of the crowd are wonderful. 22 players are running around the field after a small white ball. Scintillating stuff. World Cup Blog Bob is down at the Berlin Fan Fest snapping some pix of both team supporters.

Game Time: A few technical issues here at WCB HQ in Berlin. Our cable has gone kaput a few minutes before kick-off. All those watching out there, feel free to let us know what’s happeneing in the game and I’ll move it up into the LiveBlog until we get ourselves sorted.

Looking forward to this match. This group promises to be one of the most exciting of the tournament. Let’s get a few things straight right from the get-go. My spelling sucks, I’ll make mistakes. Some of the players’ names from both teams (Vennegoor of Hesselink! Dragutinovic!) are long and difficult to spell. I’ll probably make fun of a few in there while I’m at it. Hopefully it’ll be mildly humourous. If you find it offensive, you know where to leave comments to tell me

Pregame: It is a hot day in Leipzig. Both teams are eager to start off their World Cup campaigns with a win.

The win last night by Argentina over the Ivory Coast makes this so-called Group of Death even tougher for these two teams today. A loss puts you behind the eight ball and both of those teams will really make you work for a win.

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