Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria let a 3-0 lead slip away as they were edged out by Holland in a seven-goal thriller on Wednesday night.
Andreas Ivanschitz gave the hosts a shock lead after five minutes before twice setting up Sebastian Prodl from two corners to put Austria three goals in front.
Holland responded through Jan-Klaus Huntelaar before the break, and second-half strikes from Johnny Heitinga, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Huntelaar again sealed the win.
It was a thrilling start by a side whose own fans started a petition in September to have their team removed from Euro 2008 for being too dull. They had the crowd out of their seats five minutes after the kick-off when Ivanschitz opened the scoring with a close-range finish.
Clearly shocked at going behind so soon the Oranje could only muster up shots from long range. Robin van Persie and Huntelaar sent efforts wide, but in the 18th minute they were caught out at the back again as Austria scored a second.
Ivanschitz again had a hand in it as from his corner Sturm Graz youngster Prodl got above the Dutch defence to head the hosts two goals in front.
Again Marco van Basten's side failed to respond and on 35 minutes the hosts scored again with an almost carbon copy of the first goal. Ivanschitz swung in a corner and Prodl headed home.
But the third goal finally sparked life out of the visitors, and they pulled one back within two minutes. Huntelaar connected with Van Persie's outswinging corner to hammer home a left-footed shot from the right of the penalty area.
Van Basten shuffled his pack slightly at half-time, sending on Clarence Seedorf and Wilfred Bouma for Joris Mathijsen and Demy De Zeeuw. But still Holland had to wait until the 67th minute for their next goal - Heitinga firing home from six yards.
By now Holland were well on top, but still went into the final 10 minutes of the game trailing 3-2.
Van Basten threw on Vennegoor of Hesselink with 11 minutes left, and the Celtic forward levelled the scores within four minutes of his introduction with a long-range shot that curled into the net.
A Dutch winner now seemed inevitable, and it came in emphatic fashion when Seedorf played the ball to Huntelaar 25 yards from goal, and the Ajax ace buried his shot with a fierce right-footed drive.
Holland responded through Jan-Klaus Huntelaar before the break, and second-half strikes from Johnny Heitinga, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Huntelaar again sealed the win.
It was a thrilling start by a side whose own fans started a petition in September to have their team removed from Euro 2008 for being too dull. They had the crowd out of their seats five minutes after the kick-off when Ivanschitz opened the scoring with a close-range finish.
Clearly shocked at going behind so soon the Oranje could only muster up shots from long range. Robin van Persie and Huntelaar sent efforts wide, but in the 18th minute they were caught out at the back again as Austria scored a second.
Ivanschitz again had a hand in it as from his corner Sturm Graz youngster Prodl got above the Dutch defence to head the hosts two goals in front.
Again Marco van Basten's side failed to respond and on 35 minutes the hosts scored again with an almost carbon copy of the first goal. Ivanschitz swung in a corner and Prodl headed home.
But the third goal finally sparked life out of the visitors, and they pulled one back within two minutes. Huntelaar connected with Van Persie's outswinging corner to hammer home a left-footed shot from the right of the penalty area.
Van Basten shuffled his pack slightly at half-time, sending on Clarence Seedorf and Wilfred Bouma for Joris Mathijsen and Demy De Zeeuw. But still Holland had to wait until the 67th minute for their next goal - Heitinga firing home from six yards.
By now Holland were well on top, but still went into the final 10 minutes of the game trailing 3-2.
Van Basten threw on Vennegoor of Hesselink with 11 minutes left, and the Celtic forward levelled the scores within four minutes of his introduction with a long-range shot that curled into the net.
A Dutch winner now seemed inevitable, and it came in emphatic fashion when Seedorf played the ball to Huntelaar 25 yards from goal, and the Ajax ace buried his shot with a fierce right-footed drive.
Copyright (c) Press Association
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