Ruud scores to lead Holland
Saturday, September 08, 2007

Wesley Sneijder and Ruud van Nistelrooy scored a goal each Saturday to help Netherlands beat Bulgaria 2-0 in European Championship qualifying.

Sneijder, chosen to start in midfield instead of Clarence Seedorf, put the hosts ahead in the 23rd minute with a free kick from 20 yards. He had a chance to extend the lead in the 37th, but his shot went wide.

Real Madrid's Van Nistelrooy, playing his first competitive match for Netherlands since last year's World Cup, added a goal in the 58th with a low shot from close range.

Netherlands moved into the second place in Group G, three points behind Romania, which beat Belarus 3-1. Bulgaria dropped to third, two behind Netherlands.

Bulgaria, which came into the day with a one-point lead over Netherlands, had two decent scoring chances before Sneijder's goal. Martin Petrov came close in the third with a deflected shot which was saved by Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

Bulgaria captain and Tottenham Hotspur's Dimitar Berbatov headed wide from Petrov's corner in the 18th.

"We knew we would have a difficult game, but we made it more difficult for ourselves when we conceded an easy first goal," said Bulgaria coach Dimitar Penev, who was leading his team in a qualifier for the first since he took over from Stanimir Stoilov in June.

Netherlands predictably began with a three-man strike force involving Van Nistelrooy, Ryan Babel and Robin van Persie.

Babel set up Van Nistelrooy's 29th international goal as the Real Madrid forward marked his return by scoring following a well-documented fallout with coach Marco van Basten.

"We are very happy to have him back," Van Basten said. "He is a good player and like everyone else, he had a good game tonight."

Seedorf, who replaced Sneijder in the 72nd, hit the post in the 80th.

Netherlands next faces Albania on Wednesday, while Bulgaria hosts Luxembourg.

Bulgaria, seeking its first win over Netherlands in 22 years, fought to the end. Wilfred Bouma cleared Petrov's shot off the line in the 76th and Van der Sar tipped away Berbatov's volley in the 84th.

Netherlands entered into Saturday's match without injured starters Rafael van der Vaart, Arjen Robben and Danny Landzaat.

"I am not really concerned about finishing first or second as long as we qualify," said Van Basten.

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