England 1 Holland 2: Defeat to Holland can't hide the increased value of Jamie Vardy

FIVE years ago, Jamie Vardy's Easter was spent spearheading the FC Halifax Town attack in a league double-header against Mickleover Sports and Ossett Town.
A tribute to Netherlands legend Johan Cruyff is shown on the giant screen throughout the 14th minute at Wembley on Tuesday night. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA.A tribute to Netherlands legend Johan Cruyff is shown on the giant screen throughout the 14th minute at Wembley on Tuesday night. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA.
A tribute to Netherlands legend Johan Cruyff is shown on the giant screen throughout the 14th minute at Wembley on Tuesday night. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA.

The striker was unable to score in either holiday fixture but he still managed 26 goals that term as the Shaymen romped to the Northern Premier League title.

As Vardy, a £15,000 signing from Stocksbridge Park Steels the previous summer, put those seventh tier defences to the sword it was clear he had the potential to go much further in the game.

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No-one, though, envisaged just how far that journey would take him. And certainly not such a distance that, five years on, Vardy’s Easter would be marked by goals against not one but two of world football’s superpowers.

After netting the equaliser as England came from two goals down to triumph 3-2 against world champions Germany last Saturday, the Sheffield-born striker was at it again last night.

The manner of the 42nd-minute strike against Holland at Wembley may not have been quite as spectacular as that wonderful back-heeled finish in Berlin but it was equally compelling in terms of stating his case for inclusion in the starting XI when Euro 2016 begins on June 11.

He almost had a second, too, with only a clawed save by Jeroen Zoet keeping out his 20-yard effort just after the hour. By then, Holland were level thanks to a penalty from Vincent Janssen and it was the visitors who went on to triumph thanks to a late strike from Luciano Narsingh.

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As final auditions go – Hodgson will not see his players in international action again before naming his final 23-man squad on May 23 – it turned into a flat affair with perhaps only Danny Drinkwater advancing his cause as much as Leicester team-mate Vardy.

Vardy’s story is, of course, one that every non-League footballer in the land now hopes to emulate. The manner in which his own fortunes have been transformed for the better in such a short space of time also offers hope to Holland that their own struggles of late can prove to be a mere blip.

Certainly, the recent demise of the Dutch has been spectacular. From a third-placed finish in the 2014 World Cup to a side so wretched that even the unnecessary extension of the European Championships to a bloated 24 teams could not prevent the ignominy of failing to qualify.

Still, last night, Holland came to Wembley clearly intent on proving that the Oranje is merely bruised, as opposed to rotting.

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For the first half hour or so, all the decent chances fell to Danny Blind’s men. They should also have had a penalty, Danny Rose clearly clipping the ankle of Joel Veltman after the full-back had got to the ball ahead of the former Leeds United junior.

Referee Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz waved away the appeals but it was a let-off for the hosts.

Likewise, the tangle that Fraser Forster and John Stones got themselves in when unwisely dwelling on possession deep in their half before the goalkeeper was lucky to see his scuffed clearance find a team-mate.

Forster made amends with decent saves to deny Ibrahim Afellay and Georginio Wijnaldum as the visitors’ ability to break from deep caused England problems.

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A shot from Vardy just before the half-hour may have flown high and wide but it signalled a shift in the contest, with England going on to enjoy their best spell in the period before half-time.

Ross Barkley had a shot blocked by Janssen and then curled another effort wide before an outstanding team move that began with Stones charging out of defence brought the opening goal.

Adam Lallana, showing tremendous poise on the edge of the area to wrong-foot two defenders, helped create an opening for Kyle Walker, who then rolled a pass for Vardy to fire into the net.

It meant Wembley was all smiles at the interval. Soon, though, Holland were level, Rose being penalised for handball from a Luciano Narsingh cross and Janssen doing the honours.

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A 1-1 stalemate seemed the most likely outcome, but the Dutch had other ideas and, after Phil Jagielka had been hustled off the ball by Janssen, the striker rolled a pass for Narsingh to finish with aplomb.

After the high of beating Germany in their own back yard, there was a low of losing to a side that couldn’t even qualify for Euro 2016. Still, these are hopeful times for English football – thanks, in part, to the presence of Sheffield-born Vardy.

England: Forster; Walker, Smalling (Jagielka 69), Stones, Rose (Clyne 58); Milner (Alli 82), Drinkwater (Dier 85); Vardy, Barkley, Lallana (Kane 69); Sturridge (Walcott 58). Unused substitutes: Heaton, Cahill, Henderson, Welbeck.

Holland: Zoet; Veltman, Bruma, Blind, Willems (Van Aanholt 83); Wijnaldum, Bazoer (Van Ginkel 78), Afellay; Promes (Narsingh 37), Janssen (Clasie 90), Memphis. Unused substitutes: Karsdorp, Van Dijk, Huntelaar. De Jong, Letschert, Vermeer, Vorm.

Referee: A Mateu Lahoz (Spain).