Netherlands vs Scotland Trip Report

Written by Scott on April 2nd, 2009

This is a guest post from Scott, one of the thousands of Tartan Army footsoldiers in Amsterdam for the Netherlands V Scotland game.

Netherlands vs Scotland

28th March, 20h45

The talk was of as many as 15,000 Scotland fans invading Amsterdam and the Netherlands for this important tie for Scotland. Maybe not quite that number but the city was a sea of tartan and it is certain that the bars, sleazy windows, off-licences and coffee shops of the red light district must have seen their busiest weekend for quite some time!

The city was busy on the Friday night with more and more fans arriving on the Saturday from cities throughout the Netherlands and Belgium. There was a huge gathering of Scots and Dutch partying together in Dam Square before the match and then long into the night in many bars after the match.

For the match itself, the stadium was very busy inside and outside as was transport to and from it. Having had all day in the bars and squares partying, everyone was in pretty high spirits and it was all pretty loud and proud. However, everyone was getting along fine and enjoying themselves. The running battles with police and 30 fans being arrested after the match turned out to be Dutch fans fighting among themselves!

Getting into the stadium was a bit fraught. The automatic system to scan your ticket worked well for most but a few were confused. The issue arose however when getting into some of the sections. They were already full and it was difficult for fans to get in and up the stairs. There must have been some people in the wrong end or having entered with fake or blacklisted tickets. Some people took as long as 15 minutes after kick off to get into their sections – only to find their seats already filled.

That first half saw Scotland start reasonably strongly with a couple of chances. Then the difference in class started to show and Huntelaar 30 knocked in a free header about half way through the first half and Van Persie made it two in injury time of the first half. The second goal more or less killed it for Scotland – and the fans mood went a bit gloomier for the second half. When Dirk Kuyt scored a softish penalty, that sealed it for the Dutch.

During the match there were a few reasonable chances for Scotland, especially for Kenny Miller who took that step to far before trying to let loose. Most notably, Gary Caldwell had a goal disallowed when it was still two nil. That would have made a huge difference to the game and the potential outcome. The French ref has come under considerable criticism since for the various poor decisions.

It’s hard to see Netherlands not qualifying for South Africa as straight group winners. For Scotland, it’s a battle for second place. Any of the sides still in it could still win a play off. From Scotland’s point of view, Macedonia getting a sound thrashing from the Dutch on the 1st April would suit them very nicely. However, Iceland who play Scotland’s the same day are level on points so it is a big match. Norway trail the group but have a match in hand so are by no means out of the running either.

For George Burley, it remains a ‘hard hat’ time. The pressure from the press for improvement is growing with every match and this can never be a good thing! However, it must still be remembered that there is a different and less experienced set of players fit at the moment which is doing him Burley favours.

No related posts.

Posted in: Netherlands