NETHERLANDS: ORANGE MEN REACH FIRST HOCKEY5S WORLD CUP FINAL

The Orange Men convincingly qualified for the final at the Hockey 5s World Cup in Oman on Tuesday afternoon. The Netherlands was too strong for the host country in the semi-finals 5-3, coached by the Dutchman Siegfried Aikman. Apart from a few hectic minutes in the second half, the Dutch team never ran into problems.

The match was barely eight minutes into the game when the Dutch team already had a comfortable 3-0 lead on the scoreboard. After a loose ball from Pepijn Reyenga, it was Alexander Schop – now the Dutch 5s top scorer of all time – who put the Netherlands on the right track. The attacker responded attentively after Omani goalkeeper Fahad Al Noufali failed to properly process a cross from Jamie van Aart (1-0).

Shortly afterwards, Sander de Wijn (via a challenge) and Yannick van der Drift quickly increased the score to 3-0. Even before half time, captain Imre Vos had the 4-0 on his stick, but his tip-in was too weak to surprise the Omani goalie. On the rebound, Reyenga mowed the ball wildly. Vos remains the only Dutch field player who has not yet scored at this World Cup.

RJR39075 - Netherlands: Hockey5s: Orange men reach first World Cup final without any problems - The Orange men convincingly qualified for the final at the Hockey 5s World Cup in Oman on Tuesday afternoon. The Netherlands was too strong for the host country in the semi-finals 5-3, coached by the Dutchman Siegfried Aikman. Apart from a few hectic minutes in the second half, the Dutch team never ran into problems. — Imre Vos on the ball on behalf of the Dutch team against Oman. Photo: Rodrigo Jaramillo/WorldSportPics.

Cold-blooded The Wine

The 4-0 eventually came quite quickly after the break. The kick was roughly knocked down by goalkeeper Al Noufali, who came out of his goal much too wildly to interrupt a promising Orange attack. Result: Al Noufali is sent to the side with a yellow card and a challenge for the Dutch team. That was a piece of cake for De Wijn, who, just like twice earlier in the day, scored flawlessly with the backhand in the quarter-final against India.

Until then, the host country had only been able to watch the Dutch game helplessly, without really creating goal chances themselves. That changed around the eighteenth minute, when Aikman’s men suddenly threw away all trepidation and the Dutch pushed back somewhat. The margin was reduced to three via Rashad Al Fazari and after a shot that hit the crossbar behind goalkeeper Joey van Walstijn, Khalid Al Shaaibi even made it 4-2 with a surprising shot.

RJR39112 1 - Netherlands: Hockey5s: Orange men reach first World Cup final without any problems - The Orange men convincingly qualified for the final at the Hockey 5s World Cup in Oman on Tuesday afternoon. The Netherlands was too strong for the host country in the semi-finals 5-3, coached by the Dutchman Siegfried Aikman. Apart from a few hectic minutes in the second half, the Dutch team never ran into problems. — Kick flies through the air after the Omani goalkeeper’s hard tackle. Photo: Rodrigo Jaramillo/WorldSportPics.

But Oman could not offer more than that three-minute revival in this match. When Jamie van Aart made it 5-2 after an individual action via a placed backhand shot, all hope of an Omani stunt was gone. The fact that captain Sami Al Laun made it 5-3 in the last two minutes was only of value for the statistics.

The Orange Men will be in the final of the first Hockey 5s World Cup on Wednesday evening. The team of national coach Gerold Hoeben awaits the winner of the match between Poland and Malaysia.