National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) U21 Russia's Leonid Plaksin played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Hans Anders in the 5th minute of play. Albert Mans stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Nikolay Zanin's shot from short distance in the 14th minute. Leonid Plaksin took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Wouter Averdijk, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 18th minute, Wouter Averdijk hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 21st minute U21 Netherlands were awarded a corner. Maikel Jol went to the cornerflag to take it. U21 Netherlands's Albert Mans played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Yaroslav Vishnyakov in the 28th minute of play. Hans Anders fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 29th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Leonid Plaksin having to interfere. In the 31st match minute, U21 Russia was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Serafim Hanok to maneuver through the defense. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Hans Anders in the 32nd managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Leonid Plaksin saved U21 Russia from getting behind. In the 33rd minute U21 Netherlands were awarded a corner. Maikel Jol went to the cornerflag to take it. U21 Netherlands's Maikel Jol was first on the ball when the corner was shot and he dangerously headed the ball towards goal, but Leonid Plaksin in the goal jumped up to prevent it from getting in. 46 minutes into the match, Serafim Hanok notched a goal, 1-1, to the right of U21 Netherlands's Albert Mans. Albert Mans was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Hans Anders was the one to do the kick off. U21 Russia's Leonid Plaksin played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Wouter Averdijk in the 53rd minute of play. Albert Mans made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Nikolay Zanin in the 55th minute of play. Leonid Plaksin made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Hans Anders in the 60th minute of play. Wouter Averdijk sent away a hard shot on goal in the 61st minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 62nd minute, Nikolay Zanin hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. 64 minutes into the match, U21 Russia's goal looked a bit too open when Hans Anders came free, but Leonid Plaksin reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. When U21 Netherlands's Wouter Averdijk in the 65th minute got a chance for a shot 65th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye U21 Russia's goalie prevented a goal. Anton Kudrinskiy fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 67th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Albert Mans having to interfere. Hans Anders sent away a hard shot on goal in the 72nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Wouter Averdijk blasted a shot towards the goal in the 75th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Leonid Plaksin having to make a save. The U21 Netherlands fans' excitement grew in the 81st match minute when U21 Netherlands's Wouter Averdijk looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 2-1 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. In the 85th minute of the match, Yaroslav Vishnyakov tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Albert Mans saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. 91 minutes into the match, U21 Russia's goal looked a bit too open when Wouter Averdijk came free, but Leonid Plaksin reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 91 minutes into the match, Wouter Averdijk had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Leonid Plaksin. U21 Russia's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Wouter Averdijk was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 3-1. The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The U21 Netherlands fans cheered their team off the field, for while U21 Russia had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.