Bloemendaal seemed on their way to their fourth EHL title in five years on Easter Monday, but fell foul of a perfectly executed battle plan by Belgium’s top club Gantoise. An overview of zes crucial moments that necked Bloemendaal in the lost EHL final (2-5). Including the video referee’s reason for disallowing Nathan Ephraums’ 3-4, which was not clear on Monday.
1. Running out Marc Miralles too early
Bloemendaal was the dominant team in the first half and seemed to be in control of the game until just before halftime. Gantoise got a corner from a corner kick. Outrunner Marc Miralles anticipated too early and ran out before the ball was even played. The Spaniard was sent off to the center line, forcing Bloemendaal to defend with a man less.
With that, it rolled out the red carpet for Belgian phenom Alexander Hendrickx, the man with a drag flick like a grenade, who now had more room to strike. Unstoppable, he pushed the ball into the corner, on the stick side of Maurits Visser, out of his reach: 0-1.
With that goal, Bloemendaal played into their opponents’ hands. Bloemendaal now had to keep making the game, while Gantoise was able to operate from its favorite role: organized defense, patiently waiting and striking from the counter like predators.
Alexander Hendrickx dragged Gantoise to a 0-1 lead on the stroke of halftime. Photo: Bart Scheulderman
2. Nathan Ephraums’ two missed chances.
Bloemendaal continued to hunt for the equalizer after the 0-1 and created two serious chances shortly after halftime. Both times it was striker Nathan Ephraums – the player with the most field goals in the Tulip big league this season – who emerged at the end of an attack. The first time, he was ready to tip in a cross from the left, but hit the ball on his foot.
Opportunity number two followed not much later: a cross from Dennis Warmerdam was tipped toward goal by Ephraums, but he struck the body of goalkeeper Arthur Carr. Ephraums again got the ball in front of his stick, but his backhand shot, via a second save from Carr, past the far corner.
Sour and frustrating for the striker who has been scoring in the league. He has already scored sixteen field goals this season, more than any other player. But just when Bloemendaal needed a cold-blooded finisher in the EHL final, his nose for the goal let him down.
Striker Nathan Ephraums scores in the league, but missed two big chances in the EHL final. Photo: Bart Scheulderman
3. The green card of Lucas Veen
While the score was still 0-1, Gantoise calmly built up from its own half. Talent Lucas Veen put pressure on, but flew into the game a little too impetuously and pushed opponent Maico Casella in his back. This earned him a green card, forcing Bloemendaal to retreat into their own 23 with ten men.
The cunning Gantoise knew what to do with the superiority. The ball passed patiently from left to right, until left back Maxime Deplus stepped up and was completely free around the dotted line. His cross was touched in the circle, goalkeeper Maurits Visser saved, but the rebound fell to the stick of Guillaume Hellin. He pulled the trigger with his backhand: 0-2.
Lucas Veen received a green card, after which Gantoise made it 0-2. Photo: Bart Scheulderman
4. The approved 1-3 despite the buzzer
Shortly after Zach Wallace’s tying goal, Gantoise countered to make it 1-3: Étienne Tyvenez popped up at the far post and tapped in a tight cross. At that same moment, the buzzer sounded ending the third quarter. Immediately the doubt came: wasn’t the goal just out of time?
Referee Ben Goentgen put Bloemendaal’s fate in the hands of video referee Sarah Wilson. He explicitly asked her if the goal fell within time. ‘Is there any reason why I should disallow the goal? Please have a look at the time,’ he stressed through the headset. Wilson studied the footage, but could not determine with the available technology whether the buzzer had already sounded at the time of scoring. She detected no foul and said, “So you can stay with your original decision. The goal stood, dashing Bloemendaal’s hopes of new European silverware.
Coach Michel van den Heuvel is puzzled after a refereeing decision. Photo: Bart Scheulderman
5. Marc Miralles’ missed penalty ball
Despite the approved 1-3, and the subsequent 1-4, Bloemendaal did not give in. Striker Dennis Warmerdam got on his hips. First he tipped in the 2-4, and a little bit later he decorated a penalty ball: he was hit on his stick in the circle. The 3-4 beckoned, the chance to turn the game around.
Marc Miralles, Bloemendaal’s specialist from the penalty spot, reported. Five penalties he already cashed in the league. Under normal circumstances, he often completes these kinds of chances flawlessly, but now, with the heavy responsibility on his shoulders under the eyes of a full stadium, he succumbed to the pressure. He pushed the ball wide, allowing the moment to hook up to slip out of the hands of the record EHL champion.
Marc Miralles balks at missing a penalty ball when trailing 2-4. Photo: Bart Scheulderman
6. Ephraums’ disallowed 3-4.
Bloemendaal refused to resign themselves to defeat. Not long after Marc Miralles’ missed penalty ball, Nathan Ephraums breathed new life into the belief in a comeback. With just under five minutes left on the clock, he was awarded a free pass after a foul on him. He stopped the ball, quickly took off, took five steps and pushed it into the far corner: 3-4.
But referee Nick Bennett disallowed the goal, without making it clear why. He did go to video referee Sarah Wilson. “Would you please check if there is any reason why I should not award the goal?” he asked her. Bloemendaal’s players suspected it was about where Ephraums unloaded his shot: inside or outside the circle? On the big screen, the moment was clearly visible as proof: the striker took the ball outside the circle, but only released it inside it. The Bloemendaal players were already cheering and returned to the center line.
Then came Wilson’s verdict: “There is no clear reason to change your decision. The goal was disallowed. She gave no explanation as to why the goal was not awarded. Coach Michel van den Heuvel clutched his head in disbelief. The chance for another European title now seemed gone for good.
On Tuesday, the European field hockey federation released on request what video referee Wilson’s rationale was: it was not a question of inside or outside the circle, but she had found no convincing evidence that the ball had rolled five meters before Ephraums shot at goal.
Goalkeeper Maurits Visser was pulled aside in the closing stages, but Gantoise took immediate advantage. Via a penalty corner by Hendrickx, the Belgian top team sealed the final (2-5). That was the end of it for the Mussen, who had to swallow the acid of European silver.
Captain Jorrit Croon and coach Michel van den Heuvel talking to referee Ben Goentgen after the EHL final. Photo: Bart Scheulderman
by Hockey.nl
