Robben puts Dutch in control at halftime

Arjen Robben proved his worth to the Dutch team with a trademark goal on his first World Cup start in the Last 16 game against Slovakia here on Monday as the Netherlands led 1-0 at the break.

The Bayern Munich winger made a 20-minute appearance against Cameroon in the Netherlands’ final group game after recovering from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the opening two matches.

But coach Bert van Marwijk started him against Slovakia and he scored a textbook goal in the 18th minute.

Robben latched onto an excellent long ball from Wesley Sneijder, cut back in past the retreating Jan Durica and Radoslav Zabavnik, and drilled a left-footed shot in at the near post past the despairing dive of Jan Mucha.

Up until Robben’s goal, Slovakia had had a fair amount of possession and attacking opportunities.

An early chance fell to Eric Jendrisek who blasted a shot just over the crossbar after Vladimir Weiss had dispossessed Robben and made inroads into the Dutch defence.

Sneijder saw a snap shot go high and Slovakia skipper Marek Hamsik also shot wide after being given too much space.

Robin van Persie had an excellent chance in the eighth minute, his header from a Dirk Kuyt cross just ricocheting off Zabavnik for a corner.

The Arsenal player then laid off Sneijder in the box, but the Inter Milan midfielder could only drill an underpowered shot at Mucha, who was also on hand in the 41st minute to field a tame shot from van Persie.

A smart break and cross by Mark van Bommel found van Persie in the box but the ball squirted off his boot behind for a goal kick.