National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10313 (Terracing: 7735, Seating: 2372, VIP seats: 206) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Alexander Ronsman got the match started through his kick off. If Alexander Ronsman had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 8th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Gust Deflandre received a nice pass, split the defenders, and ran untouched towards the goal. Dennis Zuidema came out and tried to block the shot, but Gust Deflandre slotted it home off the left post making it 1-0 in the 10th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Stijn Boswijk in the 13th minute of play forced U21 Belgium's goalkeeper Robrecht Scheppers to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 14th match minute, U21 Belgium was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Gerrit Kestens to maneuver through the defense. A collision led to U21 Belgium getting a freekick after 16 minutes play. Timmy De Boel hit a great ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Stijn Boswijk in the 18th minute of play forced U21 Belgium's goalkeeper Robrecht Scheppers to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Robrecht Scheppers showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Stijn Boswijk, who was totally free with the ball in the 19th minute. Robrecht Scheppers made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from John Hassel in the 26th minute of play. Heiko Willems hit a great freekick 27 minutes into the match. After 30 played minutes U21 Belgium got a freekick which was hit by Pierre De Coninck. If Ralf Haken had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 31st minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. 36 minutes into the match, John Hassel had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Robrecht Scheppers. U21 Belgium's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that John Hassel was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-1. A sloppy throw-in by Bart Sommers in the 41st minute of the game went astray and was snapped up by U21 Netherlands's Wesley Popken. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Stijn Boswijk in the 45th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Robrecht Scheppers prevented the ball from getting in the gole. With 47 minutes on the clock, Christoff Van Maestricht commited a dangerous tackle. The referee had no choice but to show him the red card. 46 minutes into the game, one of U21 Belgium:s players got tackled near the goal, and the referee blew for a penalty. In the 48th minute there was a penalty for U21 Netherlands. Ralf Haken stepped forward and shot the ball to the right of a diving Robrecht Scheppers. 1-2.

The wind increased when Ralf Haken made the kick off in the second half. When Gerrit Kestens fell near the penalty area in the 57th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored U21 Belgium's protests and gave Gerrit Kestens a yellow card for diving instead. Gerrit Kestens hit a great freekick 57 minutes into the match. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Stijn Boswijk in the 59th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Robrecht Scheppers saved U21 Belgium from getting behind. Gust Deflandre recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 61st minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Robrecht Scheppers was out of position in the 63 minute of play, and Stijn Boswijk capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. Stijn Boswijk really showed his touch with that goal: 1-3. Robrecht Scheppers stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Stijn Boswijk's shot from short distance in the 68th minute. The U21 Netherlands fans' excitement grew in the 68th match minute when U21 Netherlands's Stijn Boswijk 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 1-4 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. 71 minutes into the match, U21 Netherlands's goal looked a bit too open when Gerrit Kestens came free, but Dennis Zuidema reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Robrecht Scheppers didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Stijn Boswijk went, in the 73rd minute, to the upper right corner, 1-5 was the resulting score. After 80 played minutes U21 Belgium got a freekick which was hit by Andris Kempenaerts. If Timmy De Boel had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 83rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 85 minutes into the match, Stijn Boswijk notched a goal, 1-6, to the right of U21 Belgium's Robrecht Scheppers. Robrecht Scheppers was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. U21 Netherlands's Wilfried Langenbach managed, thanks to a brazen rush, stole the ball on a throw-in made by Andris Kempenaerts in the 87 minute of the game. A throw-in in the 89th minute of the game was made by Andris Kempenaerts with Pierre De Coninck as target, who quickly passed the ball forward. John Hassel could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 92nd minute of the match, but Robrecht Scheppers made a huge save. Gerrit Kestens received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 94th minute. Dennis Zuidema tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gust Deflandre in the 97th minute of play forced U21 Netherlands's goalkeeper Dennis Zuidema to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. U21 Netherlands's Dennis Zuidema played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Gust Deflandre in the 98th minute of play. U21 Netherlands played a much better game than U21 Belgium and deserved their victory. The U21 Belgium players were clearly disappointed as they left the ground.