Netherlands: Matla on broken foot: ‘Never thought I’d play the EHL’

Two rounds of five minutes. That’s how little playing time Frédérique Matla made in the EHL final. In those 10 minutes, she scored two goals against Braxgata(5-1 win) and watched quietly after halftime. ‘It’s a miracle that I was able to participate in this tournament,’ she said.

Here’s the thing: Matla sprained herself in late March during an away game in Rotterdam. A clumsy moment, with major consequences. A small capsule tore in one of the bones in her foot, putting the striker in a cast for two weeks. Only since a week has she been walking again. On Thursday, a day before the EHL, she participated in a full workout again for the first time.

‘It was an eventful week,’ Matla begins her story, having just had a gold European medal hung around her neck. ‘When it happened, it really wasn’t an option to play the EHL. Just not,’ she says. So there was a line drawn in the tournament, which her own club organized.

HFN250421797463 scaled - Netherlands: Matla on broken foot: 'Never thought I'd play the EHL' - Two rounds of five minutes. That's how little playing time Frédérique Matla made in the EHL final. In those 10 minutes, she scored two goals against Braxgata(5-1 win) and watched quietly after halftime. 'It's a miracle that I was able to participate in this tournament,' she said.

Frédérique Matla stands ready for her specialty: the corner. Photo: Bart Scheulderman

The medical miracle at the Oosterplas

But she recovered much faster than expected. ‘It’s a miracle that I was able to participate in this tournament,’ she says. ‘The few weeks of recovery time went faster than expected. It was just justified to play. I didn’t have to take any risks for it,’ she says. ‘My body responded well.’

Against Stichtsche, she did not fully rotate into the substitution roster, but made more than enough minutes. Against Gantoise, too, she substituted nicely. In the final, she got five minutes of playing time twice, minutes she last got when she was fifteen. ‘Ideally I would have played all sixty of them,’ she laughed. ‘But that might not have been wise. I’m not going to take any unnecessary risks. I just want to play the playoffs later, too.’

The smuggled minute

In those two five-minute rounds, Matla managed to score once. She flattened the 1-0 into the ropes. During her second goal – a penalty ball – Matla was already sitting on the reserve bench. She had to take off her training jacket and then push the ball. ‘I sneaked a minute. That was during my goal. Then I really shouldn’t have been there,’ she laughed. After that I sat on the bench. I was still on standby, in case something happened. Or if there would be another penalty ball. I was actually quite relaxed. At halftime we were already in good shape, I was hoping for that beforehand.’

HFN250421797998 scaled - Netherlands: Matla on broken foot: 'Never thought I'd play the EHL' - Two rounds of five minutes. That's how little playing time Frédérique Matla made in the EHL final. In those 10 minutes, she scored two goals against Braxgata(5-1 win) and watched quietly after halftime. 'It's a miracle that I was able to participate in this tournament,' she said.

Photo: Bart Scheulderman

First thinking you have to miss the EHL and a good week later scoring two goals in the EHL final. Even if your name is Matla, having already won everything there is to win, this gold medal is still a special one. ‘I’m really super happy with it. This is really special. But I’m also proud of the team. Despite all the circumstances, we are just back with a top prize.’

On Friday, Den Bosch took the biggest step toward the EHL title, which was not secured until Monday. But the quarterfinal against SCHC was really just the final match. And there Matla appeared for the first time like a jack-in-the-box. A medical surprise. ‘It was wonderful to get that pot over the line,’ she analyzes. ‘Those matches are about details. And of course it was exciting, but I never felt for a moment that things would go wrong. We are good at winning finals, with or without ugly field hockey.’

The canceled vocal cord surgery

Actually, she was supposed to go under the knife last Monday. She has had polyps on her vocal cords since the Olympics. The hoarseness in her voice betrays that complaint. The timing of the surgery was convenient now, since she was in the rag anyway with her foot. “When I thought there was a very small chance of playing, I just cancelled that surgery right away.

Back to those won finals. For indeed, another grand prize has been added to the ram-packed trophy cabinet in Den Bosch. ‘Winning finals is our secret weapon,’ Matla says. ‘How that comes about, I can put into words. But I won’t,’ because Matla wants to win so many more prizes. ‘People have focused a lot on us the last few days, but we are focusing on ourselves,’ she says. After the Gold Cup title and EHL gold, it’s time for the next highlight. ‘I am looking forward to the playoffs,’ is her telling closing sentence.