England v Holland a few quick thoughts
Dan Tracey
March 30, 2016
1,747 Views
- After Saturday’s high of beating Germany the nation is bought back down to Earth with defeat at home to Holland
- Maybe that’s not the worst thing in the world as we all know how the cycle of optimism goes before major tournaments so perhaps defeat my just temper the mood accordingly
- The game certainly lacked the same pace and energy as Saturday’s encounter, this one definitely having more of a vibe of a friendly about it
- Wayne Rooney is a terrible pundit if we didn’t know that already
- I’ve also learned that Danny Drinkwater’s nickname is ‘Drinky’ and who said Footballers are stupid?
- A much changed team from the lineup that started against Germany and to be fair that was only to be expected as Roy Hodgson has few opportunities to cast an eye over his squad
- It had the air of the almost England B team. Most if not all these players would be pushing for thier inclusion in the starting eleven for England’s opening group game and only a few would have passed the audition
- England were definitely lucky not to have a Penalty awarded against them early on but in terms of refereeing decisions that’s about as lucky as they got
- Glenn Hoddle used the phrase ‘Easy Osy’ again, I still have no idea what that means
- A fitting tribute to Johan Cruyff after 14 minutes
- England drew first blood just before half time. An incredibly neat build up saw John Stones find Adam Lallana who in turn after a neat bit of skill found Kyle Walker, he then laid the ball on a plate for Jamie Vardy to fire home
- A well executed goal and a glimpse of what England could be capable of this Summer
- But after the break it was a case of how far we still have to come if we are to taste success
- If John Stones looked classy in the build up to England’s goal he looked poor in the build up to the Holland equaliser
- He dallied on the ball for too long and was dispossesed on the edge of the area, although the initial threat was saved by Fraser Forster the second phase of attack saw Danny Rose handle and although perhaps harsh a Penalty was awarded
- Vincent Janssen stepped up to slot home and England’s lead was wiped out after only being in front for 9 minutes
- But the night was to get worse for England’s defence. It seems as Everton’s poor defensive traits this season have leaked into the National team as Phil Jagielka was dispossessed by Vincent Janssen who then squared for Luciano Narsingh to score the winner
- Jagielka was vocal in his protests due to the fact he felt it was a foul but the Referee was having none of it
- Truth be told I don’t think it was a foul it was just a lapse in concentration from an experience Defender who shouldn’t have allowed himself to get in that position
- After that the flow of the game was disrupted due to a wave of substitutions
- Danny Drinkwater came off after putting in a man of the match and would have done his hopes of getting on the EURO 2016 plane absolutely no harm at all
- Jamie Vardy and Adam Lallana looked good and linked up well. Both players will now be pushing for a starting berth once we get to the tournament proper
- Obviously not a good result last night but we’ll probably lose more in losing than if he would have won
- Next up is a friendly against Turkey the week after the season ends, how many players are already on the plane and who will be get a last minute ticket?
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