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sport">The Lionesses had by no means traveled to Ostrava in full force. Permanent staff Lieke Martens, Jackie Groenen, Aniek Nouwen and Sisca Folkertsma, among others, were absent due to injuries. With this, Kerstin Casparij was in the starting line-up for the Orange squad for the first time in the game that should have been played on Friday-evening, but was moved to Saturday due to heavy snowfall.
sport">The starting debutant was close to an assist after a few minutes, but Daniëlle van de Donk failed to score. After a strong opening phase by the Netherlands, the Czechs took the lead from nowhere. Katerina Svitkova surprised Sari van Veenendaal from about 25 meters with a beautiful staircase towards the far intersection.
sport">The Lionesses were better, but lacked the finesse in the final phase and when a shot was fired, it often went straight down the middle. Meanwhile, the Czechs continued to threaten the counter. On the stroke of half-time, Dominique Janssen was given an imposed chance after a free kick fell right at her feet. The defender managed to shoot over from close range.
sport">Early in the second half, it was a hit for the Orange. Jill Roord’s shot hit the post, but Van de Donk hit the equalizer in the rebound. Less than a minute later it was already a 2-1 score for the Czechs, but Van Veenendaal made a good save on a shot from close range, after which the ensuing corner was headed towards the bottom of the crossbar.
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The Czech Republic celebrates the 2-1.
Ⓒ ANP/HH
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sport">The pressure remained great and the new Czech lead was inevitable. Simona Necidova – sister of former PEC Zwolle and ADO Den Haag striker Tomas Necid – struck from a rebound. The Netherlands had a hard time and lost many physical duels, but it was still very threatening every now and then. Vivianne Miedema thought she would nod in the equalizer, but the Czech goalkeeper’s save was excellent. In the final phase, the Netherlands started and Van der Gragt went along as a battering ram. The defender nodded hard against the ropes in injury time from a cross by Kika van Es and saved an important point for the Orange.
sport">Despite the draw, the Lionesses still have World Cup qualification in their own hands, but can no longer afford to make a mistake in the remaining matches against direct competitor Iceland, Cyprus and Belarus.
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