World Cup - Holland 1-0 Serbia and Montenegro

The Dutch got their World Cup campaign off to a good start with a win over Serbia and Montenegro. There was a sea of orange around the stadium, as per usual for Holland matches, and these fans left the stadium in Leipzig in good spirits following their sides 1-0 win. Serbia and Montenegro put up a valiant effort, particularly in the second half, but in the end, the Dutch were just a little bit too good for them. Arjen Robben's 17th minute effort proved the difference between the two sides.

The opening goal came after 17 minutes. Arsenal's Robin van Persie found Chelsea star Arjen Robben with a lofted through ball, and from there, Robben sprinted like a greyhound, and opened up a 3 yard gap between him and his marker. He then slid the ball past the helpless Serbian goalkeeper from just inside the penalty area, before being mobbed by his fellow Dutch players.

Serbia and Montenegro were no pushover, and created many chances of their own, but in the first half, Holland looked the better side, helped no end by Arjen Robben, who was relentlessly harassing the opposition defence.

In the second half, the team from the Balkans looked a lot more positive and outplayed Holland for long periods of the match. Substitutes Koroman and Ljuboja looked particularly dangerous going forward, as Serbia and Montenegro looked to claw their way back into the match.

And they nearly equalised with 70 minutes gone, as Portsmouth's Koroman hit a well struck shot at Manchester United keeper, Edwin van der Sar, who misjudged it, and had to gather the ball up, having dropped it on the first attempt.

But Holland still looked dangerous in the second half, and Arjen Robben made a couple of good chances, including a free kick which was fired straight through the Serbian penalty area, narrowly missing the target.

The Netherlands manged to hold on for the win eventually, despite valiant efforts from Serbian and Montenegro to thwart them, with Arjen Robben's 17th minute strike being the difference between the two teams. This win puts them level on points with Argentina at the top of Group C, but nevertheless, the two other teams still have a decent chance of qualification, in what looks to be a very open Group.

Holland 1-0 Serbia and Montenegro
Robben 17