FIH Pro-League: Shootout Thrillers, Historic Milestones, and Clinical Dutch Finishing Headline Four-Game Slate

It was a dramatic day of FIH Pro League action across Belfast and Santiago del Estero, with late goals, breakthrough performances and dominant displays shaping four compelling fixtures. England and Belgium traded momentum in a thrilling men’s draw before the English secured the bonus point in the shootout, while Ireland earned their first-ever Pro League points after a gritty 1–1 battle with England’s women.

In Argentina, both national sides impressed on home turf. The Leonas fell to a clinical Dutch outfit in a rain-shortened 4–0 defeat, but the Argentine men delivered a sharp and composed performance to edge Pakistan 3–2 in one of the day’s most entertaining contests.

(Men’s) Belgium 2 – 2 England (SO: 2 – 3)

Having relinquished their early lead, England came from behind with 30 seconds left on the clock to pull off a 2-2 draw with Belgium and then take the extra point in the shootout.

It was all Belgium in the opening phases of the game as the Red Lions enjoyed much of the possession and piled on the pressure, forcing a great early save from James Mazarelo. The English found their feet, however, and they were first to strike when Henry Croft hammered it in from the top of the circle off the first penalty corner of the match. While the Belgians showed plenty of patience in their build-up, the England defence made it difficult to create any real chances in the second quarter. All the action came at the other end, where a determined England were awarded four penalty corners on the trot. But the Belgians managed to prevent any further goals, with Maxime van Oost pulling off a particularly impressive diving save off the line to keep it 0-1 at half-time.

Belgium created far more opportunities in the third quarter, but the English defence again held firm. The breakthrough finally came at the start of the fourth, with Arno Van Dessel deflecting in the equaliser in the 47th minute. The Belgians then snuck in front with a sensational goal six minutes later, as Nelson Onana deflected in from an acute angle. Not to be outdone, the English came up with a scorcher of their own. With just half a minute remaining, Jacob Payton’s first-time reverse strike from a high ball into the circle ensured England rescued the draw and then went on to claim the extra point with a 3-2 win in the resulting shootout.

LbAHkVGJlP - FIH Pro-League: Shootout Thrillers, Historic Milestones, and Clinical Dutch Finishing Headline Four-Game Slate - It was a dramatic day of FIH Pro League action across Belfast and Santiago del Estero, with late goals, breakthrough performances and dominant displays shaping four compelling fixtures. England and Belgium traded momentum in a thrilling men’s draw before the English secured the bonus point in the shootout, while Ireland earned their first-ever Pro League points after a gritty 1–1 battle with England’s women.

Henry Croft was named player of the match and said: “I feel great. Thanks to the boys for getting us through it… We just said let’s stick together, trust the process, because we’ve done a lot of work, and stay together as a group, and good things happen.”

(Women’s) Ireland 1 – 1 England (SO: 4 – 3)

Ireland claimed their first ever points in the FIH Hockey Pro League with a courageous 1-1 draw with England, then going on to clinch the shootout 4-3 for the bonus point.

The Irish adapted faster to the extremely wet pitch conditions and dominated England in the first half. They won most of the 50/50 battles and ran freely on attack without reward in the opening quarter. They had some close calls in defence in the second, and goalkeeper Elizabeth Murphy had to save a penalty stroke in the 20th minute to keep matters level. English goalkeeper Miriam Pritchard stepped out quickly to shut down Sarah Torrans in the 26th minute, but Ireland’s hard work paid off a couple of seconds later. England turned over possession inside their own 23m area and Mikayla Power’s pass across goal found Torrans who slapped in for a 1-0 lead at half time

The third quarter was evenly contested with both teams struggling to penetrate the circle. Elena Rayer equalised for England in the 36th minute from an almost identical play to Ireland’s goal, and the stage was set for a thrilling final quarter. Ireland applied almost continuous pressure at the start of the period. England weathered the storm and enjoyed some attacking of their own, only to be blocked by brave first-wave running from the Irish. There was late drama when the Irish caught England trying to run the ball out of defence with 15 seconds left on the clock, but Jessica McMaster’s snapped shot clattered into the side of the goal and the match went to a shootout. Ireland held their nerve to win that, much to the delight of the home fans.

oY6vityBud - FIH Pro-League: Shootout Thrillers, Historic Milestones, and Clinical Dutch Finishing Headline Four-Game Slate - It was a dramatic day of FIH Pro League action across Belfast and Santiago del Estero, with late goals, breakthrough performances and dominant displays shaping four compelling fixtures. England and Belgium traded momentum in a thrilling men’s draw before the English secured the bonus point in the shootout, while Ireland earned their first-ever Pro League points after a gritty 1–1 battle with England’s women.

Mikayla Power was named player of the match for Ireland and said: “It feels amazing, second Pro League game, making our debut in Ireland yesterday and then our second game today with a big home crowd, it just means so much, and just so nice to get points on the table.”

(Men’s) Argentina 3 – 2 Pakistan

Argentina edged Pakistan 3–2 in a lively contest, surviving a spirited fightback to claim full points at home.

Pakistan had an excellent start, playing at a high tempo that generated early chances. Waheed Ashraf Rana was the first to truly test the Argentine back line, but Tomas Santiago produced a strong close-range save. Rana came close again moments later, flashing a shot past the far post, while Argentina struggled to convert their own penalty corner opportunities — a Tomas Domene backhand rippling only the outside of the goal.

Argentina finally broke through in the second quarter when Domene finished from close range after a sharp baseline sequence from Thomas Habif to Ignacio Nardolillo, who squared the ball perfectly for the finish. The lone goal held through to halftime.

The third quarter exploded with action. Pakistan equalized through Muhammad Ammad, who got a clever touch on a Zikriya Hayat pass to make it 1–1. Argentina responded immediately with a superb pair of penalty-corner conversions just one minute apart — Nicolás della Torre firing low into the corner before Maico Casella launched a flick high into the net after a series of re-awards. Pakistan earned their own trio of re-awards before Waleed Rana finally tucked home a rebound to pull them back within one before the buzzer.

The 3–2 scoreline held through the final quarter. Pakistan delivered a valiant performance, but Argentina’s experience and penalty-corner precision ultimately proved decisive.

Argentina’s Thomas Habif was named Player of the match and said: “It was good to get the win today. Yesterday was a good match and today was better for us.”

(Women’s) Argentina 0 – 4 Netherlands

The Netherlands secured a commanding 4–0 win over Argentina in a match cut short by torrential rain, sealing the result with clinical finishing over 55 minutes of play.

A hard stick challenge by Agustina Gorzelany on a streaking Joosje Burg in the 15th minute awarded the Dutch a penalty stroke. Frédérique Matla calmly converted, sending it low to the stick side of goalkeeper Cristina Cosentino for the opener.

Miscommunication in the second quarter left acres of space for Matla, and Felice Albers’ build-up work fed her perfectly to fire home on the reverse and double the Dutch lead. Despite the scoreline, Argentina produced plenty of attacking moments, with Anne Veenendaal far busier in goal — but the Leonas couldn’t find a way past.

Two more Dutch goals in the third quarter put the match firmly out of reach. A slick passing sequence created room for Freeke Moes at the top of the circle, and she buried a low backhand to make it 3–0. Moments later, Moes forced a rebound off Cosentino, allowing Pien Dicke to sweep in the fourth in the 43rd minute.

With 10 minutes remaining, the skies opened and conditions deteriorated rapidly. As standing water pooled across the pitch, the match was abandoned with just under five minutes left. The 4–0 scoreline stood, and Matla was named Player of the Match. A bright spot for Argentina was the celebration of Julieta Jankunas’s 200^th international match.