Netherlands 2-0 Bulgaria: Madrid pair on target

Group G

	Nertherlands 2 - 0 Bulgaria 22' Wesley Sneijder 1 - 0 58' Ruud van Nistelrooy 1 - 0
2		0

Wesley Sneijder and Ruud van Nistelrooy scored either side of the break to earn the Netherlands a 2-0 home win over Bulgaria in their Euro 2008 qualifier on Saturday.

The Real Madrid pair made the difference in a one-sided Group G match against the Bulgarians, who relied almost completely on playing on the counter attack.

The Dutch are now second in the group with 17 points from seven matches, three points behind leaders Romania, who have played eight matches.

'I am satisfied with the result and for phases we played good football and it was attractive to watch,' Dutch coach Marco van Basten told reporters.

'We organised our midfield and defence to prevent any problems and that worked out.'

Despite lots of possession, the Dutch needed a dead-ball situation to break the deadlock as Bulgaria's tight rearguard proved a match for their slow build-up.

Midfielder Sneijder curled a free kick around the wall from 25 metres in the 23rd minute, beating goalkeeper Dimitar Ivankov at the near post.

The goal came minutes after Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov had missed his best chance, heading a Martin Petrov cross over the bar after being left unmarked.

Van Nistelrooy sealed victory in the 58th minute, collecting the ball outside the area from Ryan Babel and firing home a well-placed shot.

Bulgaria finally started pushing forward and Petrov beat keeper Edwin van der Sar from close range, only for Wilfred Bouma to cleared off the line.

Van der Sar was then forced to make a sharp save when Berbatov controlled a cross with his right foot before firing off a shot with his left.

'I expected more from our goal-scorers because we had our chances,' said Bulgaria coach Dimitar Penev.

Netherlands continue their qualifying campaign in Albania on Wednesday.

Source: Soccernet.com