Two goals in three first-half minutes, first from Casper Terho then Topi Keskinen, put the Little Owls into a strong position. But Luciano Valente pulled one back just before the hour mark, then Ernest Poku levelled matters in the 93rd minute to salvage a point in the sides' Group D opener.
Speaking after the game, midfielder Adam Markhiev said the match overall was a positive for his side, in spite of how it unfolded, "The players were sad in the locker room, even though in principle we should be happy with the point against the Netherlands.
"I thought it was an important point. We have to be happy that our goalkeeper (Lucas Bergstrom) played a good game," Markhiev added, praising Lucas Bergstrom, who made six saves as the Dutch had more shots on and off target, and more big chances.
Terho, who opened the scoring, was proud of his contribution, "Scoring a goal in a game like this is special."
When asked what the match told him about how Finland's style of play is working under head coach Mika Lehkosuo, the Paderborn forward added;
"When we lead the game 2-0 at half-time against one of the toughest teams in the tournament, it means that our style of play is working very well. We believe in that."
Finland were backed by vocal travelling support in Kosice, which Keskinen was quick to praise, "The contribution of the Finnish fans in particular to the match was incredible."
"We can be happy with the point." he reflected. "The Dutch equaliser is of course disappointing, as it came so late. It wasn't far off that we would have won, and that would have been a great result.
"In this match we saw that we can challenge top countries, and we have a good team. I think our confidence increased."
The Finns will now attempt to take that increased confidence into their second match, also at Kosice's Kosicka futbalova arena, on Sunday against Ukraine, who began with a 3-2 loss to Denmark.
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