HE HAD called it the "biggest game of his life" and Christophe Berra certainly approached last night's World Cup qualifier against Holland in a serious frame of mind.
The former Hearts man had admitted there would be nerves, but that was good sense from a young man who was right to be nervous. Berra may have been valued at £2.3m when he signed for Wolves in January, but he had just three caps, all of them as a su
bstitute. The 24-year-old was up against Real Madrid striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar who led the Dutch line like a veteran, with support from Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie and Dirk Kuyt. That quartet would not leave you much change out of £60m.
Unfortunately, the focus on Berra this morning will concern the penalty he conceded for Holland's third goal. Berra was sucked into making a mistimed tackle on Huntelaar and the Dutchman was happy to go down. But overall, Berra actually played well.
An early clearance helped settle his nerves and a couple of interceptions showed that he was up to the pace of the game. Early on it looked like he might do a number on van Persie, but such is the quality of movement and interchange of the Dutch that man-to-man marking just isn't possible.
Holland's first real chance was due to a Berra slip. After 16 minutes, as Robben moved at speed on goal, the former Hearts player slipped and could only watch helplessly as the Dutchman blasted his shot high and wide.
But as Scotland dropped deeper with Holland probing it became obvious that the Scottish back four were too static, with Berra and Gary Caldwell camped on the 18-yard line – and that was where they both were when Mark Van Bommel dropped his pinpoint pass on to Huntelaar's head for the opening goal.
Holland upped the pressure at this point, and Berra had to look lively to clear one attack. There may be some who would try to lay the blame for the killer second goal at Berra's feet, but he was following normal defensive procedure when he went with the man he was marking, Joris Mathijsen, who made a decoy run as if to meet the inswinging corner from Robben.
With Berra out of position, Van Persie rushed into the gap and bulleted home his header. But where were the other defenders? Or for that matter, where was goalkeeper Alan McGregor?
Early in the second half, Scotland pressed and Berra again came upfield. When Ross McCormack swung in a second cross after a corner was cleared, Berra rose gamely but misdirected his header. Had any Scot been lurking nearby, however, it would have been a golden chance.
Berra continued to look solid in defence, especially under aerial threat, playing safe and making a couple of excellent tackles. Despite the penalty, he is worth persevering with.
The full article contains 499 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
