National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10302 (Terracing: 7727, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Gregor Gierman kicked off to start the match. In the last second Marco Owusu Abeyie throw himself and got hold of the ball when Ivan Westelinx in the 7thth minute from his position got away a shot towards the right post. In the 8th minute U21 Belgium were awarded a corner. Arnaud Versluys went to the cornerflag to take it. Youri Koens kicked well hit freekick during the 8th minute of the match. Ivan Westelinx sent away a hard shot on goal in the 11th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. U21 Belgium's Samuel Verbraecken played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Maurice Temen in the 14th minute of play. Gooitzen Dalmeijer fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 15th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Samuel Verbraecken having to interfere. A collision led to U21 Netherlands getting a freekick after 17 minutes play. Gerrie van Mol hit a great ball. Through an outstanding action, after 17 minutes, Marco Owusu Abeyie successfully got his hands on the ball before it slid into the goal at the right post. U21 Belgium were awarded a corner in the 19th minute after U21 Netherlands's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Arnaud Versluys took the corner. A sloppy throw-in by Markos D'Angelo in the 23rd minute of the game went astray and was snapped up by U21 Belgium's Youri Koens. 24 minutes into the match, U21 Netherlands's goalkeeper Marco Owusu Abeyie had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Ivan Westelinx. 28 minutes into the match, Gooitzen Dalmeijer had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Samuel Verbraecken. U21 Belgium's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Gooitzen Dalmeijer was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-1. Ivan Westelinx fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 33rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Marco Owusu Abeyie having to interfere. Dennis Hanekamp was astounded when the referee showed him the red card after a seemingly innocent challenge, 39 minutes into the match. In a very dangerous position, a player in U21 Netherlands fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 39th minute. Penalty! The referee gave U21 Belgium a penalty, 42 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Arnaud Versluys, who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of U21 Netherlands's Marco Owusu Abeyie. 2-1. With 45 minutes on the clock, Seppe Van Der Meren commited a dangerous tackle. The referee had no choice but to show him the red card. After 45 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for U21 Belgium! Af the end of the first half the score was 2-1. The first half had gone as expected for the home team.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Ivan Westelinx to strike the kick off in the second half. A collision led to U21 Netherlands getting a freekick after 51 minutes play. Maurice Temen hit a great ball. Arnaud Versluys, 52 minutes into the match, dribbled the ball up the side of the field and decided to take a long shot at the goal. Unfortunately, the ball was poorly hit and landed closer to the corner than to the goal. 55 minutes in the game, Gregor Gierman fired away an excellent shot, which passed to the side of the right post without Samuel Verbraecken having to interfere. If Gooitzen Dalmeijer had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 57th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Ivan Westelinx sent away a hard shot on goal in the 59th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Youri Koens sent away a hard shot on goal in the 64th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. U21 Netherlands's Niels-Jan Sturm was substituted for Gooitzen Dalmeijer. Ivan Westelinx scored 3-1 in the 68th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Marco Owusu Abeyie, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. U21 Belgium made a substitution. Glen Van Damme replaced Augustijn Ramps. U21 Belgium's Mathijs Verstraeten was substituted for Ivan Westelinx. After 78 played minutes U21 Belgium got a freekick which was hit by Roel Biermans. Niels-Jan Sturm who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 81stth minute tested the skills of Samuel Verbraecken when he managed to save the team from getting behind. When Mathijs Verstraeten came up free with the goalie in the 82nd minute, the U21 Belgium fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Mathijs Verstraeten couldn't finish the play. Mathijs Verstraeten struck a weak shot in the 89th minute. Marco Owusu Abeyie didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for U21 Belgium. Arnaud Versluys kicked well hit freekick during the 91st minute of the match. Mathijs Verstraeten received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 94th minute. Marco Owusu Abeyie tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. U21 Belgium were really happy, having secured the victory after a very even contest. They thanked the players of U21 Netherlands for a fine match.