Dutch forward Robben voted Man of Match
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Dutch star forward Arjen Robben, 26, was voted the Man of the Match here on Monday after the Netherlands beat Slovakia 2-1 to advance to the quarterfinals of 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Robben, a dribbling master for Bayern Munich, opened the scoring in the 18th minute by cutting inside from the right, dancing past two defenders outside the box and firing a shot in at the near post.
Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart dropped to the bench to give Robben, who recovered from injury, a chance to start for the first time in this World Cup and the latter made it.
In the 51st minute, Arsenal striker Van Persie worried defender Jan Durica, who cleared to Robben. Robben dribbled in the same way of his first half scoring and blasted a shot at almost the same area. But it was brilliantly parried away by Slovakia keeper Jan Mucha this time.
After seconds, Robben got into the area and found Van Persie, but Mucha made a wonderful save again, stopping it from point blank range.
Robben said after the game that he had been out for quite a long time and he knew he "must be explosive" in the match.
"I played confidently in the game, but I know it was not my top form," he noted. "The most important thing is that we win the first match of the knockout stage. We will be relax tonight and sit and watch the game between Brazil and Chile."
The brilliant but fragile winger traveled to South Africa on the back of his most prolific campaign in club football, having fitted in superbly with the likes of Franck Ribery during his maiden season with Bayern Munich. He quickly won himself a place in the hearts of the Bundesliga side's fans.
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