Jong Oranje take Denmark to task

A patched-together Denmark defence was overwhelmed by a young and hungry Netherlands side as the UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals hosts came unstuck in their Herning friendly.

A header from substitute Kelvin Leerdam and two strikes from Bas Dost helped the visitors make an explosive start to the second half, with Erik Sviatchenko hitting back 14 minutes from time for Keld Bordinggaard's men.

With his side missing out on next summer's finals, Dutch coach Cor Pot chose to blood some younger players in Herning while Denmark boss Bordinggaard was forced to field midfielder Kasper Povlsen as a central defender following a rash of withdrawals from his squad.

Both sides had their chances in the first half, but the Jong Oranje swiftly silenced the 3,100 crowd after the interval as Leerdam headed them in front from Jerson Cabral's cross. Within ten minutes it was 3-0. Christian Sivebæk's foul on Cabral allowed Dost to score his first from the penalty spot and the sc Heerenveen man swiftly struck again from Maikel Kieftenbeld's long ball.

Nicki Bille and Jens Stryger Larsen had decent chances for Denmark before the interval, and while they both tried their luck again after the hosts had recovered a little following the Dutch onslaught, central defender Sviatchenko's header late on was all they had to show for their efforts.