Huntelaar leads Dutch past Finland

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP)

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored twice and Maarten Stekelenburg pulled off a string of good saves Tuesday as the Netherlands beat Finland 2-1 in a European Championship qualifier.

The result gave the losing World Cup finalist two wins from its first two Group E matches and inflicted the Finns' second straight loss.

Huntelaar's first-half goals brought his tally to five in two qualifiers after he scored a hat trick against San Marino on Friday.

EURO QUALIFYING - GROUP E

Fri., Jun. 3

Moldova 1-4 Sweden
San Marino 0-1 Finland

Tue., Jun. 7

Sweden 5-0 Finland
San Marino 0-3 Hungary

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Scores | Tables | Fixtures

Hannover forward Mikael Forssel pulled a goal back for Finland before the break, but Stekelenburg stopped a number of attempts to preserve the Dutch lead.

The Dutch regained control of the midfield in a scoreless second half that contained few chances for either side.

"That was tough, we should be happy with the three points," captain Mark van Bommel said.

Finland was playing without captain and key defender Sami Hyypia after he was sent off in his team's 2-0 loss to Moldova on Friday.

The Netherlands also was playing with a makeshift forward line after injuries ruled out Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Dirk Kuyt. Ibrahim Afellay started on the right instead of Kuyt while Rafael van der Vaart replaced Eljero Elia on the left of midfield.

Center back John Heitinga returned from suspension for Bert van Marwijk's team, and Vurnon Anita replaced Erik Pieters at left back.

The Netherlands beat San Marino 5-0 in its opening Group E match. Van Marwijk's team next meets Moldova, while Finland takes on Hungary.

Huntelaar has been coach Bert van Marwijk's second-choice striker behind Van Persie, but he has made the most of the Arsenal star's absence.

"It's just good to be in the game, making combinations and scoring goals," Huntelaar said. "That has gone well in the last two matches."

Huntelaar opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a powerful header after a clever cross with the outside of his boot by Wesley Sneijder.

Finland goalkeeper Otto Fredrikson made sure the Netherlands did not stretch its lead in the 13th minute, diving to his right to save a free kick from Sneijder.

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES

Sat., Jun. 4

Brazil 0-0 Netherlands | Recap
USA 0-4 Spain | Recap
Czech Rep. 0-0 Peru

Sun., Jun. 5

Poland 2-1 Argentina | Recap
Australia 3-0 New Zealand | Recap
Bolivia 0-2 Paraguay
China 1-0 Uzbekistan

Mon., Jun. 6

Ukraine 1-4 France | Recap

Tue., Jun. 7

Australia 0-0 Serbia | Recap
Japan 0-0 Czech Rep. | Recap
S. Korea 2-1 Ghana | Recap
Brazil 1-0 Romania | Recap
Venezuela 0-3 Spain | Recap
Italy 0-2 Ireland | Recap
Ecuador 1-1 Greece | Recap
Paraguay 0-0 Bolivia
Norway 1-0 Lithuania
Russia 0-0 Cameroon

Wed., Jun. 8

Uruguay 1-1 Netherlands | Recap
China 2-0 N. Korea

 

Huntelaar's second came from the penalty spot in the 16th after Van der Vaart played a neat backheel pass into the penalty area and Markus Heikkinen pulled down Mark van Bommel as they both tried to reach the ball.

But the two-goal cushion led to an uncharacteristic spell of sloppy passing and defending by the Dutch, with only Stekelenburg preventing Finland taking the lead.

The Ajax 'keeper could do nothing as Finland cut the deficit almost immediately, with Hannover forward Mikael Forssel slipping his marker and heading home a corner from the right by Daniel Sjolund.

"We conceded at 2-1 unnecessarily and then gave away the initiative," Van Bommel said.

The visitors could have equalized in the 25th when Mika Vayrynen ran onto a long ball over the Dutch defense, but Stekelenburg dived at his feet and Gregory van der Wiel cleared the loose ball. Stekelenburg repeated the save seven minutes later after another defense-splitting pass set Forssel free, and he did it again in the 39th minute.

In between Stekelenburg's heroics, Van der Vaart went close at the other end after an exchange of passes with Sneijder but Fredrikson again dived well to block his shot.

After the frenetic first half, the Netherlands tightened its defense and midfield after the break, giving away fewer chances, but also creating very little danger at the other end.

Lineups:

Netherlands: Maarten Stekelenburg, Gregory van der Wiel, John Heitinga, Joris Mathijsen, Vurnon Anita, Nigel de Jong, Mark van Bommel, Ibrahim Afellay (Jeremain Lens, 74), Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart (Eljero Elia, 64), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Ruud van Nistelrooy, 82).

Finland: Otto Fredrikson, Petri Pasanen, Niklas Moisander, Veli Lampi, Mika Vayrynen, Romano Eremenko, Mikael Forssel (Alexei Eremenko, 80), Tim Sparv, Daniel Sjolund (Jonatan Johansson, 68), Kasper Hamalainen (Roni Porokara, 45), Markus Heikkinen.