Netherlands suffered two injury scares ahead of Euro 2012 as Wilfred
Bouma and Wesley Sneijder were forced off during a 2-0 home victory over
Slovakia in Rotterdam.
PSV Eindhoven centre-back Bouma had to be
substituted after a collision in the first minute when he and defensive
colleague Johnny Heitinga clashed heads. Feyenoord's Ron Vlaar was
Bouma's replacement, while Heitinga was comfortable enough to stay on
the pitch.
Ibrahim Afellay helped to put Holland in front after
seven minutes when the Barcelona forward, who returned to action only
last month after a serious knee injury, produced a tricky run along the
left and his low cross prompted Slovakia defender Kornel Salata to put
the ball into his own goal.
After defeats to Bayern Munich and
Bulgaria, Holland were seeking a confidence-boosting win ahead of their
European Championship campaign.
Robin van Persie fired a shot over
the crossbar but was mostly kept quiet by Slovakia around the penalty
area, and Klaas Jan Huntelaar came off the bench to replace the Arsenal
man midway through the second half.
Sneijder had already gone off
by that stage, the Inter Milan playmaker suffering an ankle knock in the
51st minute, with Holland boss Bert van Marwijk wanting to take no
further risk with such a key player.
Rafael van der Vaart doubled
Holland's lead after 75 minutes with a precise low right-footed shot
from 15 yards across goalkeeper Jan Mucha and into the left corner.
Afellay
made way for Dirk Kuyt late on, while Luciano Narsingh was brought on
in place of Arjen Robben for an international debut.
Holland complete their match preparation for Euro 2012 when they play Northern Ireland in Amsterdam on Saturday.
Source: Soccernet.com
