It was penalty shoot-out heartache once again for Anton
Ferdinand and England on Wednesday night, as the Under-21s suffered
defeat against Holland in the semi-finals of the UEFA European
Championships.
In a quite amazing encounter at the Abe Lenstra stadium in Heerenveen, the host nation went through to the final in Gronigen this weekend after winning 13-12 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in normal time.
And just as it did in last year's FA Cup final, Anton's miss from 12 yards proved decisive, enabling Dutch defender Zuiverloon to eventually secure a stunning sudden-death victory and set up a final clash against either Serbia or Belgium.
That doesn't even begin to tell the full story, though. Ferdinand had already converted one kick superbly in the first round of penalty kicks, while his Upton Park club-mate Mark Noble was successful twice, despite knowing that - had he helped his colleagues progress - he would have missed the final on Saturday through suspension.
Both Noble and captain Nigel Reo-Coker, who also missed a spot-kick in the shoot-out, collected their second bookings of the tournament in the second half, ruling them out of England's next game.
That meant the only Hammer who would have been in with a chance of playing at the weekend was Ferdinand, whose substitute appearance against Holland was his first taste of action in the tournament following a groin injury.
Sadly, though, it wasn't to be, as Leroy Lita's first-half strike was ruled out by a last-minute equaliser from Maceo Rigters, before the Dutch ended the dreams of Stuart Pearce's brave troops at the end of the marathon shoot-out.
In a quite amazing encounter at the Abe Lenstra stadium in Heerenveen, the host nation went through to the final in Gronigen this weekend after winning 13-12 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in normal time.
And just as it did in last year's FA Cup final, Anton's miss from 12 yards proved decisive, enabling Dutch defender Zuiverloon to eventually secure a stunning sudden-death victory and set up a final clash against either Serbia or Belgium.
That doesn't even begin to tell the full story, though. Ferdinand had already converted one kick superbly in the first round of penalty kicks, while his Upton Park club-mate Mark Noble was successful twice, despite knowing that - had he helped his colleagues progress - he would have missed the final on Saturday through suspension.
Both Noble and captain Nigel Reo-Coker, who also missed a spot-kick in the shoot-out, collected their second bookings of the tournament in the second half, ruling them out of England's next game.
That meant the only Hammer who would have been in with a chance of playing at the weekend was Ferdinand, whose substitute appearance against Holland was his first taste of action in the tournament following a groin injury.
Sadly, though, it wasn't to be, as Leroy Lita's first-half strike was ruled out by a last-minute equaliser from Maceo Rigters, before the Dutch ended the dreams of Stuart Pearce's brave troops at the end of the marathon shoot-out.