Dutch critical of Andorra mindset

Netherlands midfielder Rafael van der Vaart said he was delighted to find the net in his nation’s 3-0 win over Andorra on Friday.

The 29-year-old opened the scoring in their World Cup qualifying match against the European minnows, who were simply content to defend in a bid to stem the bleeding.

Van der Vaart echoed the rest of his team’s sentiments that they should have furthered their advantage, and believes there is still room for improvement.

“Personally, it was a good thing that I scored,” Van der Vaart told Dutch channel SBS.

“However, they weren’t very strong opposition, and I realise it wasn’t a great evening of football. We should have tried to make more of it.”

Compatriot John Heitinga proved critical of Andorra’s defensive mentality, blaming their lack of endeavour in attack for a poor match that was fortunate to only end with a 3-0 scoreline.

“They defended as a block unit,” the defender told Goal.com. “They came here to defend without the thought of scoring.

“A three-goal margin was a good result for them. We had hoped for a higher score. Nevertheless, the important thing is that we won.

“It will be a good match against Romania. This will be another manner (compared to Andorra), but we want to secure qualification quickly.”