Clockwork orange to chocolate orange!
Van Gaal fumes as dire Dutch are lucky to get point from Ecuador
THE Netherlands have illuminated so many World Cups with their vibrant shirts and metronomic passing rhythms that it is hard not to notice when something goes awry.
When the mechanism fails as it did against Ecuador. When the Clockwork Oranje feels a little bit more Chocolate Oranje.
Here they were fortunate to escape with a point, which keeps them in control of Group A but did not spare them this withering assessment from boss Louis van Gaal.
‘Not a good match, not at all,’ said Van Gaal. ‘We could not pass the ball to our own players. That’s not only the fault of the player on the ball but others. Plus, we lost every challenge. Every duel. Every second ball.’
The perceived wisdom is that England would do well to swerve the Netherlands in the last 16.
Van Gaal’s team should go on to win Group A. They have the already- eliminated hosts Qatar in their final game, and although they may require a few goals, that is a better place to be than Ecuador who need at least a draw against Senegal to go through.
Senegal can also qualify, but Gustavo Alfaro’s team from South America were by some distance the better team here in this draw at the Khalifa Stadium.
They had 14 attempts at goal compared to the Netherlands’ two. More energy and more imagination. It’s impossible to reach too far ahead, funny old game as it is, but England will face one of these three if they progress from Group B and Ecuador are a definite threat.
The Netherlands simply never got going despite the fillip of an early goal by Cody Gakpo.
Ecuador fought back and deserved their equaliser, scored by Enner Valencia, early in the second half.
It was his third goal of the World Cup, taking him top of the Golden Boot race, but he left the pitch on a stretcher near the end, his hand over his face, and was later seen icing a knee on the bench.
When this group concludes on Tuesday, Ecuador will also be without Jhegson Mendez against Senegal after he collected a second yellow card in as many games.
‘ Senegal will be tougher than this one, we will have to
defend,’ said Ecuador’s Argentine boss Alfaro.
Gakpo got the Dutch off to a flier with a goal inside six minutes. Nathan Ake swept the ball forward out of defence. Steven Bergwijn linked up with Davy Klaassen and he found Gakpo, who took a touch to create space before finding the net from 20 yards.
It was his second of the World Cup. He opened the scoring with a late header against Senegal on Monday and here he claimed the first goal again. Gakpo is certainly influential. He has 13 goals and 17 assists for PSV Eindhoven this season, catching the eye of wealthy suitors.
Ecuador hauled themselves back into the contest. Gradually at first but, by half-time, they were on top and working Dutch goalkeeper Andries Noppert. Valencia cut inside from the left, sped away from Denzel Dumfries and drew a smart save, low to his left.
If Gakpo, 23, is one of the emerging storylines of the World Cup, then Noppert is another. Handed a debut by Van Gaal against Senegal on Monday this was only a second taste of international football for the tall Heerenveen goalkeeper.
He was beaten in first- half stoppage time when Ecuador thought they had an equaliser. Angelo Preciado took aim from distance and his effort was deflected into the net by Pervis Estupinan. It was ruled out because Jackson Porozo was standing in front of Noppert, in a clear offside position.
Ecuador’s disappointment did not last. They were level soon after returning for the second half. Moises Caicedo released Brighton team-mate Estupinan whose low drive on the angle drew another splendid save from Noppert.
The rebound was kind to Valencia who tapped in his sixth World Cup goal across two tournaments. Virgil van Dijk led the protests for offside but Valencia timed his run past Ake and was alive to convert a simple chance.
‘Valencia is top-level when he wears Ecuador’s jersey,’ said Alfaro. ‘ Sometimes he has been criticised unfairly. He is going through such a strong spell.’
At half- time, Van Gaal had introduced Memphis Depay, who is returning from injury and being used sparingly. He looked sharp for half an hour against Senegal but had little impact on this occasion.
‘Memphis hardly got the ball,’ said Van Gaal. ‘If it reached him, it was in difficult circumstances. He couldn’t show qualities but that was nothing to do with him and everything to do with the team at the time. He became a victim of that.’
Ecuador were in the ascendency and continuing to threaten Noppert’s goal. Gonzalo Plata rattled a shot against the bar before the Dutch restored some order and closed out for a point. NETHERLANDS (3-4-2-1): Noppert 7; Timber 6.5, Van Dijk 6, Ake 5.5; Dumfries 6, Koopmeiners 6 (De Roon, 79min), De Jong 6, Blind 6.5; Gakpo 7.5 (Weghorst 79), Klaassen 6.5 (Berghuis 70, 5); Bergwijn 6 (Depay 46, 6). Scorer: Gakpo 6. Booked: None.
Manager: Louis van Gaal 6.
ECUADOR (3-4-2-1): Galindez 6; Porozo 6.5, Torres 6, Hincapie 6; Preciado 7, Mendez 6.5, Caicedo 7.5, ESTUPINAN 8; Plata 7 (Ibarra 90), Valencia 7.5 (Rodriguez 90); Estrada 7 (Sarmiento 74, 5).
Scorer: Valencia 49.
Booked: Mendez.
Manager: Gustavo Alfaro 6.5.
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria) 6. Attendance: 44,833.