Belgium’s men finished off their FIH Hockey Pro League campaign on a triumphant note, recording a 5-3 win over the Netherlands on the final day of the season in Amsterdam on Sunday.
That saw the Red Lions climbing two places in the standings to finish fifth above Germany, while the Dutch ended the season in second spot.
The Netherlands’ Jip Janssen finished as the highest scorer in the men’s tournament with a total of 15 goals from 15 matches, with Australia’s Blake Govers and India’s Harmanpreet Singh sharing second place with 12 goals each.
(Men’s) Netherlands 3 – 5 Belgium
Belgium delivered an energetic performance to wrap up the FIH Hockey Pro League with a hard-fought 5-3 win over hosts, the Netherlands. Thibeau Stockbroekx stunned the Dutch in the opening minute, driving along the baseline and pulling the ball to his reverse stick for a blistering strike into the top of the net. Nicolas de Kerpel added a field goal from an acute angle in the 12th minute, but the Netherlands struck back a minute later, Floris Wortelboer receiving an overhead in the circle and passing it across the goal for Thierry Brinkman to finish. Brinkman was on the score sheet again in the 15th minute, receiving an aerial pass in the circle and bunting it in with the reverse stick to level matters. There were few opportunities through the second quarter until Alexander Hendrickx restored the lead for the Red Lions with a powerful drag flick in the 27th minute.
The Dutch came close to scoring a couple of times at the beginning of the second half, hitting the side of the post from open play and missing a penalty corner. Loïck Luypaert then extended Belgium’s lead from a penalty corner rebound in the 39th minute, and the teams both missed penalty corner opportunities as the third quarter ran down. The Netherlands pulled one back to set the stage for a tense finish when Terrance Pieters finished with a diving deflection at the right post in the 46th minute. Wortelboer then had a chance to equalise with four minutes remaining, but he pulled his reverse shot just wide, and Nelson Onana made sure of the result for Belgium, slotting in his nation’s fifth goal of the day with the faintest of touches a minute later.
Belgium’s Antoine Kina received the player of the match award and said: “It feels nice. I think we grew during the four games we played here so it’s nice to end with a win.”
To see the final standings in the FIH Hockey Pro League, click here.
FIH Hockey Pro League – 30 June 2024
Wagener Hockey Stadium, Amstelveen (NED)
MEN
Result: Match 72 (M)
Netherlands 3 – 5 Belgium
Player of the match: Antoine Kina (BEL)
Umpires: Coen Van Bunge (NED), Ayden Shrives (RSA), Rachel Williams (ENG-video)
