The Australian women produced the best possible response to a 7-2 trouncing at the hands of the Dutch three days earlier – playing a far better match and then edging the same opposition 2-1 in a shoot-out victory in FIH Hockey Pro League action in Eindhoven. In the men’s match, India wrapped up their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Argentina.
(Women’s) Netherlands vs Australia 3-3 (SO: 1-2)
The First Dutch goal was created by Freeke Moes who worked her way along the right baseline and then passed it to Maria Verschoor to deflect in.
The Aussies struck back when they were awarded their first penalty corner just a matter of seconds before the first break. The shot was half stopped by a Dutch defender on the line, but it popped out for Peris Brooke to slot in from the far post for the equaliser.
Five minutes into the second quarter the Dutch delivered a clever penalty corner variation – Frédérique Matla looking like she was going for the drag but then slipping it to Jansen to drill it in.
But the Australians once again worked their way back, earning another penalty corner. It was another great variation that led to Rosie Malone dragging it in from the top of the D.
The Hockeyroos’ next goal was scored on the counterattack. The ball coming in from the right was cleared by the keeper. But it went straight out to the top of the D where Grace Young picked it up and slipped it to Maddison Brooks who fired in to push her side in front for the first time in the match.
The Netherlands struck back immediately through Felice Albers who picked up the ball just outside the circle and bulleted it over the keeper’s left shoulder. That saw the teams heading into the final break all square on 3-3 and that’s the way it stayed.
The resulting shoot-out saw Jocelyn Bartram coming on for Australia in goal and proving to be the hero of the afternoon by making three saves to secure the 2-1 win. Not only was it the perfect comeback for the Aussies, but it handed the Dutch their first defeat in a shoot-out since the Rio Olympic final in 2016.
Brooke Peris was named player of the match and said: “I feel really proud of the girls. We started off really tough, especially in the first game and to bounce back like that takes real resilience and strength and I couldn’t have asked for a better performance from my team.”
(Men’s) Argentina vs India 2-1
The Argentinian defence were slow to get going and a slew of errors meant India had no trouble in scoring within the first two minutes of the match – an easy put-in for Akashdeep Singh from right in front of goal.
The Indians doubled their lead with less than a minute left in the opening quarter. Akashdeep and Vivek Sagar Prasad combined well to pass the ball through to a sliding Sukhjeet Singh in front of goal to once again easily breach the Argentinian defence.
Argentina enjoyed a stronger second half, but it was only with two and a half minutes left in the match that they finally found the breakthrough.
Nicolas Della Torre slipped the ball to Lucas Toscani off a penalty corner to fire in for Los Leones’ first goal. While they pressured for the equaliser in the dying moments, it was too late to prevent the 2-1 victory for India in their final match of the FIH Hockey Pro League season. That leaves the Indians top of the standings for now with 30 points from their 16 matches.
Vivek Sagar Prasad was named player of the match and said: “It was a really good match for us. This is our last match in the Pro League and we finished strongly with a win so that’s really good for us… We need to now focus on what was good in this competition and, more importantly, on what we need to improve like PC conversion and more counterattacks.”
To see the current standings in the FIH Hockey Pro League, click here.
FIH Pro League – 11 June 2023
HC Oranje-Rood Stadium, Eindhoven (NED)
Result: Women’s Match 47
Netherlands 3-3 Australia (SO: 1-2)
Player of the Game: Brooke Peris (AUS)
Umpires: Ben Goentgen (GER), Céline Martin-Schmets (BEL), Hannah Harrison (ENG-video)
Result: Men’s Match 47
Argentina 2-1 India
Player of the Game: Vivek Sagar Prasad (IND)
Umpires: Laurine Delforge (BEL), Sarah Wilson (SCO), Ben Goentgen (GER-video)
