Dutch gladly accept another victory without artistry

DURBAN // The result was all that mattered, according to Wesley Sneijder. The midfielder's goal in the 53rd-minute yesterday finally broke down Japan's stubborn resistance, which had stifled Dutch creativity for much of the match, as Holland put one foot in the knockout stages with a 1-0 victory, their second straight triumph. "We pressed in the second half and got a goal," Sneijder said. "This is the kind of game we maybe could have got two or three goals, but we won it and that's great."

Robin van Persie laid the ball back and Sneijder hit a powerful right-foot shot that Eiji Kawashima, the Japan goalkeeper, could only deflect into his net. It was the 15th goal in 63 internationals for the Inter playmaker. "Our players did everything they could, but we could not beat the Netherlands," said Takeshi Okada, the Japan coach. "We feel sorry for the fans." Holland again failed to live up to their billing as one of the most fluent attacking teams of the tournament. The team struggled to a 2-0 victory over Denmark in their first Group E match, while Japan had a 1-0 victory over Cameroon.

Said Bert van Marwijk, the Holland coach: "Why do we focus on good football instead of winning? Let me assure you that we really, really want to win and if we can do that in style, then great. But you have to be able to win ugly games." Before Sneijder's goal, Van Persie missed several chances for the Dutch. Van Marwijk said he was expecting an aggressive Japan team and that is what he found as Okada played a four-man defence and a mobile, five-man midfield that rarely gave the Dutch time to settle on the ball.

"It shows you there are no easy games. Look at France and Germany," Van Marwijk said, referring to the World Cup losses for the European powerhouses. The victory was a record 10th in succession for Holland.

* AP