dutch pay penalty as ıceland win in amsterdam published: thursday 3 september 2015, 23.21cet netherlands 0-1 ıceland gylfi sigurdsson's 51st-minute penalty downed the ten-man oranje and took the group a leaders even closer towards a euro debut.
gylfi sigurdsson's 51st-minute penalty seals win for group a leaders heimir hallgrímsson and lars lagerbäck's side eight points above dutch in third bruno martins ındi's 33rd-minute red card hinders netherlands efforts danny blind's debut as oranje coach ends in amsterdam defeat next matches: turkey v netherlands, ıceland v kazakhstan (sunday)
group a leaders ıceland took a decisive step towards uefa euro 2016 after beating a ten-man netherlands team 1-0 in amsterdam courtesy of gylfi sigurdsson's second-half spot kick.
after the oranje had gradually wrested the initiative in a vital match for both teams, disaster struck for debutant coach danny blind, first as captain arjen robben limped off, and then two minutes later when bruno martins ındi was sent off. sigurdsson's penalty six minutes into the second half clinched victory for the nordic visitors, now eight points clear of the dutch in third position with three games to play.
chasing a major finals debut, ıceland created the initial danger yet jón dadi bödvarsson was unable to take advantage of an open goal following johann gudmundsson's cross from the right. the netherlands survived and, in reply, wesley sneijder's attempt from the edge of the box was deflected just wide of the upright, while robben's free-kick also whistled a matter of centimetres off target. yet just when things seemed to be looking up for blind's oranje, came two defining moments. robben had to be substituted after pulling up injured, before minutes later martins ındi was red-carded after an incident involving kolbeinn sigthórsson.
with klaas-jan huntelaar giving way to the more defensive jeffrey bruma, the netherlands then found it more difficult to regain a foothold in proceedings once ıceland took the lead in the 51st minute. gregory van der wiel brought down birkir bjarnason in the box and sigurdsson converted for heimir hallgrímsson and lars lagerbäck's side despite goalkeeper jasper cillessen getting a touch. the hosts got lucky themselves soon after, gudmundsson's effort rattling the post. still, blind's charges refused to surrender and visiting custodian hannes halldórsson had to negotiate long-range strikes from sneijder, memphis depay and luciano narsingh, with sneijder again working the keeper in a futile search for the equaliser.
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