Holland v Cameroon

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Holland v Cameroon

Dutch Overcome Physical Cameroon Test To Progress

by Jeremy Ruane

Holland overcame a sturdy physical test of their credentials from Cameroon in front of 22,423 fans at the Stade du Hainaut in Valenciennes on June 15 to advance to the knockout stages of the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals.

The sight of exciting winger Lieke Martens in full flight hurdling a challenge in the fifth minute got all present in the mood for the afternoon's entertainment, but it wasn't long before the unorthodox and physical style of play in which Cameroon thrive began to frustrate the Dutch, particularly their supporters.

Yet it was Cameroon who proved the slightly more adventurous team during the first half. After goalkeeper Annette Ngo Ndom had gathered a Desiree Van Lunteren cross at the third time of asking, with Vivianne Miedema vying for possession with her, the African side went close to opening the scoring in the twelfth minute via Gaelle Enganamouit's rasping twenty-five yarder, which narrowly missed the far post.

Ten minutes later, Genevieve Ngo Mbeleck's ball forward wasn't dealt with by Van Lunteren, allowing Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene to get in behind the defence and fire a shot narrowly past the same upright, to the undisguised delight of the crowd, who had taken umbrage to her behaviour following a foul by Shanice Van de Sanden moments earlier.

What most upset the Cameroonians about this was the fact their captain, Christine Manie, had been booked for a similar offence in the fourteenth minute. So they were asking poorly performed Australian referee Casey Reibelt, "Why book our player and not theirs?" They had a fair point.

For her part in these proceedings, Aboudi Onguene soon became the pantomime villain as far as the Dutch fans were concerned, attracting their ire every time she was in possession or went to ground, which, in truth, was a wee bit more often than was necessary.

Their own team should have been subjected to a few of these cat calls, because the reality was Holland weren't playing well, or rather, they weren't being allowed to play well by a Cameroon team which was thriving in its "party-pooper" role.

But as so often happens with teams from the less developed areas of the world, mental lapses come into the equation, and after Ngo Mbeleck's wild attempted clearance earned her a yellow card eight minutes before half-time, the Dutch opened the scoring with a super goal four minutes later.

Dominique Bloodworth switched play from left to right, picking out Van de Sanden. She worked a delicious one-two with Jackie Groenen before driving in a cross which Miedema met with a diving header to direct the ball wide of Ngo Ndom and open the scoring.

Holland held their advantage for just two minutes. Ngo Ndom's clearance was laid off by Michaela

Abam for Raissa Feudjio, whose through ball sent Aboudi Onguene dashing through the Dutch rearguard. She headed the bouncing ball past the approaching figure of Sari Van Veenendaal then steered it into an empty net, silencing her audience for the moment, at least.

Holland had a great chance to restore their lead before the interval. Martens had enjoyed few chances to stretch her legs in this match, but this was one of them. Miedema was the beneficiary, but she was shut down superbly on this occasion by Estelle Johnson, who had a fine game at the heart of Cameroon's rearguard.

The second spell was just three minutes old when the Dutch regained the lead. Sherida Spitse played a free-kick to Groenen, dashing down the right, a run which Cameroon never anticipated. Her low cross was missed by Bloodworth, but Abam gifted her a second chance, and not even a defender could miss from two yards … 2-1 Holland.

Cue the pantomime villain again, Aboudi Onguene going to ground claiming she'd been elbowed. To say sympathy from the Dutch faithful was in short supply is something of an understatement.

So, as it turned out, were chances to score for Cameroon - they mustered just one more opening of note in the entire contest, eight minutes from time. After Miedema had threatened with a couple of efforts, Aboudi Onguene swept past an opponent before setting up substitute Henrietta Akaba, whose shot deflected to safety off Spitse.

That miss was to prove costly, for with five minutes remaining, Holland clinched victory with a decisive third goal. Substitute Lineth Beerensteyn scooted down the left before playing the ball inside to Miedema, who took on the defence before thrashing a shot past the unsighted Ngo Ndom to become the most prolific goalscorer in the history of Dutch women's football, this her 60th goal for her country.

Beerensteyn and Spitse both went close to extending the lead in the dying minutes of the contest, but Holland had already done enough, their 3-1 win seeing them join the European armada certain of a place in the last sixteen - it's possible that all nine finalists from that continent could advance to the knockout phase.

Cameroon's hopes of joining the Dutch now lie on beating the Football Ferns in their final group match. Here's hoping that doesn't eventuate - GO YOU GOOD FERNS!

Holland: Van Veenendaal; Van Lunteren, Dekker, Bloodworth, Van Es (Van Dongen, 86); Groenen, Van de Donk (Roord, 71), Spitse; Van de Sanden (Beerensteyn, 66), Miedema, Martens

Cameroon: Ngo Ndom; Meffometou, Leuko, Manie (booked,14), Johnson, Feudjio (booked, 68); Abam (Nchout, 60), Yango, Ngo Mbeleck (booked, 37) (Meyong, 60), Aboudi Onguene; Enganamouit (Akaba, 75)

Referee: Casey Reibelt (Australia)

Group Matches