Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy scored in stoppage time for a 1-0 victory after Holland had dominated for virtually the whole match.

The result followed the 2-0 win over Bulgaria on Saturday, allowing the Oranje to move level on points at the top of the table with Romania.

"We are very happy with this," said Van der Sar. "What we tried to do was good, but it just didn't work out like we planned.

"Against Bulgaria we played well, here in Albania we created too little. A bit of good luck, but we leave here with a smile on our faces."

Goalscorer Van Nistelrooy was relieved Holland eventually made the pressure tell to break Albania's resistance.

"It was a very difficult match," he said. "With a 0-0 it would have been a big party here.

"We won in the final minute - we all worked very hard to reach that - the relief was enormous."