Netherlands:
He screamed his lungs out on Friday evening against Australia (2-7) , Thijs van Dam. But whatever volume the 26-year-old occasional captain of Orange produced, it was not of much use against the all-powerful Aussies. ‘We have been severely punished.’
Van Dam wears a red, white and blue captain’s armband around his left arm in this Pro League series. He does the honors, now that Thierry Brinkman is getting some rest and is not part of the selection of national coach Jeroen Delmée. Van Dam feels nothing more than honoured. And yet also a bit proud, he confesses after only his second game as Orange captain. He doesn’t have much experience as a captain either. The attacker from Rotterdam was captain at Ring Pass years ago and sometimes wore the band in the youth selection.
But whoever sees the attacker busy this Friday evening in Eindhoven, it seems that he has never done anything else. Van Dam can be heard all over the field. With short advice for his fellow strikers. Miles back! Connect Boris, Tjep step forward!’
‘Been punished harshly’
Despite all that coaching, his vocal cords did not bother him afterwards. From the result, yes. ‘7-2..’, he says. While he lets the numbers sink in again. ‘It’s very sour. We have been severely punished. But when you look at hockey, it doesn’t feel that bad at all,’ he says. “Delmée has warned us about everything that makes Australia dangerous. For the continuous people, midfielders who go over the strikers. Everything happened. He was right. And yet it kept going wrong.’
Thijs van Dam. Photo: William Vernes
The Orange had already scored five goals before the break. Van Dam is of course anything but satisfied with that afterwards. “We were late everywhere in the first half. Nobody blocked a line, nobody made it physical. We were too soft and sweet. We have to take a critical look at that, because this is international hockey.’
The current young and inexperienced group of Delmée still has to get used to that international hockey. On Friday evening in Eindhoven there were no less than eight players with less than ten international matches. Including David Huussen, who made his debut.
Crash course in international hockey
On Wednesday evening against India, the Dutch team also played with a young group. Dressed in the orange uniforms, the team then held its own, but on Friday in the black away shirt, the team fell through the ice. The crash course in international hockey, which started less than fourteen days ago for part of the selection, has not yet been completed, Van Dam also knows. ‘You’re going to get a beating. You should learn from that. We were punished physically and brutally. Apparently we haven’t learned enough of those lessons in the past two weeks.’
But to place the blame entirely on the inexperienced selection is clearly too easy for the captain. After all, according to him, there was still enough experience on the field in Eindhoven. “We are all outclassed. We were warned, but simply not ready. We’re overrun. Australia was faster, harder and more physical. We should at least be able to match that.’
The screaming Thijs van Dam. Photo: William Vernes
Time for revenge
It should have been David Huussen’s dream evening. The defender of Little Switzerland made his debut during the zeperd against Australia. Captain Van Dam is also disappointed. “You wish those guys a lot more than this. Not only David, but also Miles (Bukkens, ed.), who scored two more times.’
What exactly is the captain’s conclusion – so soon after the game? “It went too fast in the first half,” he recalls. But he thinks his team made up for it in the second half. ‘I’m glad we kept playing hockey. We didn’t hang our heads. There are plenty of things we can build on. It’s not that gloomy after all.’
Because one thing is certain: Saturday – twenty hours later – the next game on the jam-packed Pro League schedule. Then the Orange will again meet India in Eindhoven. Van Dam: ‘That is physically demanding. Especially for guys who are not used to this. We will now recover and focus on India. Talk about hockey with each other.’
And that zeperd? Will it go under cover? ‘Certainly not. Sunday we have a rest day. Then we can really take a critical look at what happened. On Monday we will play against Australia again. Then it’s time for revenge.’
Thijs van Dam and Miles Bukkens. Photo: William Vernes
by Hockey.nl
