Of all the players on the field Saturday during SCHC-Den Bosch (1-1), Jip Dicke had the widest smile. The 22-year-old SCHC striker – felled by a hamstring injury in April – has been working her butt off for the past seven weeks to be fit in time for the national title final. And although a goal was not forthcoming, she was one of the standouts on the Bilthoven side. ‘I’ll score that goal on Thursday.’
Jip Dicke was close to crowning her comeback Saturday afternoon with the winning goal. Four minutes before time – at a 1-1 score – SCHC pressed for another attack. Xan de Waard found Famke Richardson on the right side, who rammed the ball hard into the circle. Out of nowhere, Dicke popped up, escaping from the back of her opponent Pien Sanders.
She suddenly took the bouncing ball on her stick and left goalkeeper Josine Koning defenseless. However, the ball splattered on the crossbar, to the dismay of the 1,100 spectators on Kees Boekelaan.
Jip Dicke balks after her ball hit the cross in the closing stages. Photo: Willem Vernes
‘Taking the ball in the circle was not an option,’ Dicke recalls the moment. ‘You don’t get time and space for that against Den Bosch. It had to happen all at once. Too bad the post and crossbar got in the way. But yes … you have to peak at the right moment huh. So I save that goal for the return on Thursday. Then it is really needed.
Race against the clock
Dicke tells it with a broad grin. Her performance in the first final marked the end of a period of uncertainty. When she injured her right hamstring at training in April, she initially thought her season was over. But the pain subsided faster than expected – and slowly hope grew.
‘The first day after it happened I just cried,’ Dicke says. ‘But when the pain disappeared pretty quickly and my hamstring recovered remarkably smoothly, I could jog again after just a week and a half. Each time I could run farther and harder. My body could handle it and was strong enough for it. Then I set myself the goal of making the playoffs. I’m grateful to the team and staff for giving me the chance to come back as well, despite my lack of race rhythm.
Jip Dicke in a tough duel with Den Bosch defender Sanne Koolen. Photo: Willem Vernes
That Dicke was immediately included again in the selection for the duels with Den Bosch says a lot about her status. Last summer she came over from HDM and proved to be an instant hit. Until her injury, she was the player with the most field goals in the league (eleven) and scored a total of fifteen times, equaling her personal record from last season.
No quarrel with the ball
Saturday against SCHC, she immediately added new energy to SCHC’s attacking game and, like goal scorer Maud van den Heuvel, regularly popped up dangerously in front of Josine Koning’s goal. Halfway through the second quarter she came very close to scoring the opening goal with a tip-in on a De Waard cross, but her effort flew just past the post.
Dicke, laughing: “I actually expected to have more trouble with the ball, but today it went quite well. I’ve obviously been running a lot the past few weeks. Gilles [van Hesteren, coach] gave me the tip to play with a ball every day at home: in the living room, on the balcony, just to keep feeling with the ball. I did that. Wherever I went, I always had a ball and stick in my car.’
The relief at Maud van den Heuvel (left) and Yibbi Jansen after the 1-1 draw against Den Bosch. Photo: Willem Vernes
After halftime SCHC went behind on a goal by Pien Sanders, but within a minute Maud van den Heuvel levelled the score with a rebound from a penalty corner. What followed was an explosion of joy among all players – proof of the close bond within the team.
That 0-1 fell a bit out of the blue, I thought. But fortunately we equalized quickly. Otherwise you spend the whole second half chasing that equalizer, and that just makes playing field hockey less enjoyable. And of course the emotion was great. We are a close team and we hype each other up. We’ve been pushing each other well for a while.’
Voicing ambitions
Coach Gilles van Hesteren has already stated several times in recent weeks that the title battle is very much alive within the selection. The coach spoke confidently about his team’s title chances and is convinced that SCHC can add its first national title to the list next Thursday around 2:15 pm.
Jip Dicke catches his breath after an SCHC attack against Den Bosch. Photo: Willem Vernes
Dicke: ‘I can agree with what Gilles said. From the first moment he was our coach, he has been saying this. Winning the title is very much on our minds. Of course we tell each other that that is our goal. We want to exude winner’s mentality and that includes speaking out. The rest of the Netherlands may know what our ambitions are.’
After Saturday’s 1-1 draw, the return game at Oosterplas awaits next Thursday. A match that could really still go either way. ‘Nothing has been played yet. We were good on Saturday, Den Bosch was also good. A 1-1 is a fine result to go into the deciding match. I think it will be a real fighting pot. I’m looking forward to it.’
by Hockey.nl
