Dutch dreams of again qualifying for the World Twenty20 championship were abruptly ended by Ireland at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday, as they had been at the same venue two years previously.

Put in by Irish skipper William Porterfield, the Netherlands could only manage to post a total of 114 for six, their lowest of the tournament and one which never seemed likely to cause their opponents much trouble.

There was, it is true, a brief blip for the Irish when Michael Swart removed Paul Stirling and Gary Wilson with consecutive deliveries, as there had been when Alexei Kervezee and Tom Cooper were compiling a third-wicket partnership of 55, but neither did more than temporarily interrupt Ireland's march towards a showdown with Namibia for the second qualification place for Sri Lanka in September.

The opening partnership between Stephan Myburgh and Swart had been a key element in the Dutch successes so far, but it quickly became evident that the Irish new ball attack of Trent Johnston and Boyd Rankin had clear ideas about how to contain the batsmen, and that they were skilful enough to implement them effectively.

Swart, in fact, was bowled by Rankin in the second over, and in the fifth, with just 17 on the board, Myburgh fell to a brilliant overhead catch by Porterfield, running back at point, as he played a slightly desperate slash at Johnston.

This brought Kervezee and Cooper together, and the next eight overs were the Netherlands' most prosperous period of the match, as with a mixture of some fine conventional strokeplay and some interesting, and at times hazardous improvisation, they took the score along at around seven an over.

It provided a platform for a total of 140 or so, the absolute minimum that was needed if Ireland's batsmen were to be put under any pressure, but with the score on 72 Cooper tried to produce a reverse shot to Kevin O'Brien's first ball, as he had earlier and successfully to the first deliveries by George Dockrell and Paul Stirling, and this time he was trapped in front. His 26 had come from 24 balls, and his departure proved to be disastrous for his side.

Wesley Barresi has struggled to find his batting form in this tournament, making just 99 runs in seven innings, and his battle here cost five precious overs and put additional pressure on Kervezee, who nevertheless reached his half-century for the second time.

By the time Barresi sacrificed himself after a mid-pitch misunderstanding there were only 18 balls remaining in the Dutch innings, and the total was just 98.

Kervezee followed two balls later, hitting a sharp return catch to Dockrell and departing after making 56 from 48 deliveries, with three fours and a six. It had been a very fine knock, but with his departure went any realistic chance of the Netherlands getting enough.

In fact, Peter Borren, Mudassar Bukhari and Tom de Grooth were able to squeeze 14 runs from the last fifteen deliveries, and Ireland needed 115 for victory.

Stirling's one for 9 from two overs and O'Brien's two for 17 from four had been a major factor in turning the screw, while Rankin was again both dangerous and parsimonious in taking one for 17 from his four overs.

Porterfield and Stirling were in little difficulty from the outset of the Irish reply, and by the time the Irish captain was caught by Cooper at deep mid-on off Pieter Seelaar's second delivery, 41 was already on the board from just 26 balls.

Seelaar and Swart managed to slow the tempo somewhat, and Swart's double strike in the tenth over, leaving Ireland on 73 for three, inspired a gleam of hope that more might follow.

Ed Joyce was solidity personified at the other end, however, and O'Brien's three sixes, the last of them to level the scores, ensured that there was never any real pressure on the batsmen.

Cooper and Gruijters bowled tidily enough to extend proceedings to the 17th over, but there were no further alarms for Ireland as they got home with seven wickets in hand and 20 balls to spare. O'Brien's unbeaten 30, made from 22 deliveries, combined with his spell with the ball, earned him the Man of the Match award.

The Dutch have done well to get this far without ever quite playing at their best. This was a match where everything needed to go their way, and after their tense win over Scotland it required them to move up another level. But Ireland are experienced, well organised and a fine allround combination, and in the final analysis the Netherlands fell just short.