AMSTERDAM:The Netherlands grabbed two late goals to snatch a 3-1 home victory over 10-man Kazakhstan having trailed until just past the hour mark in their Euro 2016 qualifier on Friday.
The Dutch took the three points thanks to Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Ibrahim Afellay and a Robin van Persie penalty, having fallen behind in the 17th minute to Renat Abdulin’s diving header from a corner in the Group A match.
The Kazakhs had successfully defended in numbers until the 62nd minute when substitute Huntelaar equalised with a header and they were down to 10 men when striker Baurzhan Dzholchiyev was sent off two minutes later for a foul on Afellay.
Afellay, making his comeback for the national team after an absence of 23 months, put the Netherlands ahead thanks to a 20-metre strike with only eight minutes remaining and Van Persie wrapped up the win by converting a penalty in the 89th.
Iceland and Czech Republic, who both won away on Friday, top the group with six points followed by the Dutch on three, with Kazakhstan and Latvia on one and Turkey bottom without a point.
Meanwhile, an own goal by Bulgaria centre back Nikolay Bodurov gave Croatia a 1-0 victory in a Euro 2016 Group H qualifier marred by unruly behaviour by fans of both teams at the Vasil Levski Stadium on Friday.
The visitors struck after 36 minutes when the powerfully-built Bodurov turned the ball into his own net as he tried to clear Ivica Olic’s header from Ivan Rakitic’s right-wing cross.
The match was interrupted for a few minutes midway through the first half as rival supporters threw fireworks at each other and a number of flares were hurled from the stands. Bulgarian Football Union president Borislav Mihaylovsaid he would not be surprised if European soccer’s governing body punished his team for the crowd disorder.AGENCIES
