Peaks and troughs in Low CountriesThere were vastly contrasting fortunes for the Netherlands and Belgium in Wednesday evening's UEFA European Under-21 Championship play-offs, with the Dutch cruising through to next year's finals and the Young Devils crashing out in heartbreaking circumstances.
Wonder goal
Having come away from Slovenia with a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their tie, the Netherlands made home advantage count as they secured a 2-0 victory at Heerenveen, Klaas Jan Huntelaar scoring twice on his home ground. His first, a goal expertly set up by Ismail Aissati, had coach Foppe de Haan purring. "It was a world-class strike," he said. "It was beautiful how Aissati and Huntelaar combined."
All-round success
Huntelaar's double brought his goals tally for the U21 side to 14, just one short of joint all-time record-holders Roy Makaay and Arnold Bruggink, but the victory also confirmed the Netherlands' standing as a formidable force at all levels. "This is excellent for Dutch football," added De Haan. "People all over the world are talking about us. The senior team is doing well and last summer we did well at the [FIFA] World Youth Championship and at the [FIFA] U-17 World Championship. Now this win puts the U21 team on the map."
Belgian woe
In stark contrast to the Netherlands' serene progress, the last-gasp defeat Belgium's U21s suffered against Ukraine was indicative of a nation whose fortunes have waned in recent years. After Benjamin De Ceulaer scored to put Belgium 4-2 ahead on aggregate, next summer's finals seemed to be beckoning, but late strikes from Ruslan Fomin and Dmytro Chygrynskiy and an added-time goal from Artem Milevsky handed Ukraine a stunning 5-4 aggregate win.
Final hope
Much was riding on the performance of Belgium's youngsters after the senior side failed to reach next year's FIFA World Cup, the second successive major tournament they have failed to qualify for. There was also a certain amount of pride at stake with the country's representatives in the UEFA Champions League, RSC Anderlecht and Club Brugge KV, continuing to struggle to make an impact.
We had it in our own hands and threw it awayKevin Vandenbergh
Vandenbergh stunned
The significance of the defeat by Ukraine was not lost on Kevin Vandenbergh, whose hat-trick in the first leg had put his side in the driving seat before disaster struck. "Words cannot express my disappointment," said the striker, whose next task will be to help the senior team qualify for the UEFA EURO 2008™ finals. "I cannot comprehend this. I was desperate to play in the European Championship. We had it in our own hands and threw it away, it is just unbelievable."
საღოლ ახალგაზრდებს გამახარეს ბიჭებმა და აიამ ბიჭმა შეაგდო ორი გოლი ეს მომავალი ვარსკვლავია დაიმახსოვრეთ იან კლას ჰუნტელაარი
მიმაგრებული სურათი
· 
ჰოლანდიური ფეხბურთის ფანკლუბი, ტკბილო & მურაბა ხალხო აქეთ....
