The Dutchmen ended their Pro League campaign with a draw. In London, it ended 1-1 against England and the Netherlands did grab the bonus point via shoot-outs. It marked the finale of a leaden international block. The Netherlands is still the leader in the Nations League, but can still be overtaken by Australia or Germany.
In their eighth game in 11 days, the Dutchmen went to war one last time. At the Lee Valley Hockey Centre in London, they concluded their long Pro League campaign against England. With tired legs, but a clear mission: to win in order to stay in pole position for the final victory in the global Nations League. ‘We want to finish in style,’ national coach Jeroen Delmée told the FIH camera prior to the match.
Compared to yesterday’s game(when the Dutch won 3-2), Delmée made two changes to his 18-man squad. Olivier Hortensius and Lucas Veen remained on the sidelines, while Guus Jansen and Derck de Vilder returned to the squad.
Jip Janssen and Terrance Pieters, happy with two points against England. Photo: WorldSportPics
First Pro League title already in
Earlier in the evening there was already a Dutch first prize to celebrate: the Dutch Women became Pro League champions without taking action themselves. Belgium’s defeat against Spain (0-1) was enough for national coach Raoul Ehren’s team to win the title.
So the Orange Ladies already managed to finish in style, but in the case of the men it took a long time before there was a real highlight. Jip Janssen pushed a penalty corner against the stick of an English defender early in the match, while Thijs van Dam shot just wide with his backhand. Will Calnan tested goalkeeper Derk Meijer for the first time with a hidden shot from the edge of the circle. Later, Phil Roper pounded a penalty corner with his backhand high towards linebacker Thierry Brinkman. And believe it or not: there were no more chances in the first half hour.
Jip Janssen breaks the spell
It was a bit boring. But could the Dutch really do anything about it? After that marathon of field hockey games? The war of attrition seemed to be turning in the Netherlands’ favor, when Janssen was allowed two more shots of his quality in the third quarter. But the British outrunners had done their homework: each time they ran into the path of Janssen’s push. Until the 43rd minute. Because then he succeeded. Via the fourth corner he dodged every outrunner and dragged the 1-0 through the legs of James Mazarelo against the board. There was finally the lead for the Olympic champion.
Photo: WorldSportPics
The Dutch then found themselves in overtal for five minutes, after James Albery – with green already in his pocket – couldn’t win it for a moment from Guus Jansen. He grabbed the Rotterdam talent by the neck and then gave him a little push to the ground. An unnecessary foul, resulting in a yellow card. In those five minutes, Orange did not create that much. It only lost the video appeal, after Jeroen Delmée’s team challenged a decision – whether Joep de Mol’s shot was between the posts or not. Holland was not vindicated. The defender’s ball went high – and dangerously wide.
Immediately afterwards Steijn van Heijningen left for the penalty box (with green) and the British took advantage of that. In the first attack that followed, Rohan Bhuhi shot with his backhand into the far corner, beyond the reach of Meijer. So suddenly it was 1-1.
The penalty that turned into a free ball
The closing minutes were entertaining. The last few seconds the game went from left to right and England had the most chances for the full score. The British got their third corner 2.5 minutes before time, from which a penalty ball initially followed. The ball landed on De Vilder’s body, but the footage – which German referee Raphaël Adrien requested fortunately for Orange itself – showed that Meijer was still behind defender. Then the English effort proved dangerous and the penalty ball again turned into afree-hit-out. Orange was allowed to strike out and was still alive.
Joep de Mol congratulates Derk Meijer. Photo: WorldSportPics
There was no more scoring, so after sixty minutes the score was 1-1 between England and the Netherlands. In a difficult match, with few chances. Shoot-outs followed, in which the Dutch were working on a strong series: the team won its last six shoot-out series in the Pro League. And its last seven series in all tournaments. A new victory could be added to that list after Wednesday night. The Dutch were sure of their goals in all four attempts (via Jorrit Croon, Thijs van Dam, Thierry Brinkman and Floris Middendorp) and Meijer turned away two of the four English efforts. As a result, the bonus point is for the Orange.
That concludes the sixth Pro League season for the Dutchmen. The Netherlands closes the tournament with 21 points (five wins, three draws and three bonus points) in the last eight games in eleven days and for now occupies first place. The coming weeks will reveal whether that is enough for the final victory, or whether one of the chasers will still come alongside. A side issue, because of course this summer only one thing counts: the European Championship in August.
England – Netherlands 1-1 (0-1)
43. Jip Janssen (sc) 0-1
51. Rohan Bhuhi 1-1
Shoot-outs:
0-1 Jorrit Croon: hit
1-1 Stuart Rushmere: hit
1-2 Thijs van Dam: hit
2-2 David Goodfield: hit
2-3 Thierry Brinkman: hit
2-3 Tom Sorsby: miss
2-4 Floris Middendorp: hit
2-4 Jack Waller: miss
Read back updates from our England-Netherlands liveblog below
by Hockey.nl
