The very young SCHC women’s team returned from the European Cup Indoor in Lithuania on Monday night with a suitcase full of memories and a silver medal. Losing in the final against Ukrainian MSC Sumchanka was a big disappointment, but did not cause a hangover. ‘A lot of girls actually get extra confidence from this,’ says SCHC top scorer Maud van den Heuvel (19).
On the day after the lost final, we look back on the past three days in playing city Siauliai with Van den Heuvel. SCHC smoothly qualified for the semi-finals with two wins and one draw, in which it eliminated the Spanish team Sanse Complutense after shoot-outs. In the final match, the team of indoor coach Frank Balvers had to acknowledge its superiority to MSC Sumchanka, the team SCHC had beaten in the group stage.
You were close to taking home the first prize. What went wrong in the final?
Van den Heuvel: ‘We were leading 2-0 after fifteen minutes and actually had the game completely under control. But we didn’t manage to score the third goal, despite a good number of penalty corners. And you know: a margin of two goals doesn’t mean anything in the hall. In the last quarter they put good pressure on us and scored twice. Then we lose the shoot-outs. Very unfortunate that we gave it away.
Van den Heuvel on his way to a goal against MSC Sumchanka. Photo: WorldSportPics/Frank Uijlenbroek
What feeling did you guys leave with from this tournament?
‘Of course we would have liked to have won the final, but we didn’t necessarily expect to win this tournament beforehand. Considering our messy preparation, we did fine. Right after the elimination against Den Bosch in the semifinals of the NK Zaal we went out to train on the field. Only in the week before the European Cup we were able to train in the hall, literally once. So we had to make a switch, but it worked out well.’
The hall you played in looked like an average gymnasium. What was it like to play there?
‘We quickly noticed that the floor was soft, very different from the halls we are used to in Almere or Rotterdam. It wasn’t really possible to speed up the passing from the start. You were mainly trying to keep the ball under control. It could spring up just like that because of the soft ground. The location may not have looked spectacular, but the tournament was well organized.
Van den Heuvel cheers after her goal against Sumchanka in the final. Photo: WorldSportPics/Frank Uijlenbroek
Personally, you can look back on an excellent tournament with eight goals and a handful of assists.
‘I usually play in the back in the hall, but due to the absence of Ginella [Zerbo], Laurien [Leurink] and Jip [Dicke], I played in the front all the matches. That went well. I got a lot of space in some matches to make actions and score with a turn. I wanted to improve in keeping calm and keep an overview in front of the goal. Not shooting straight away but slowing down and scoring with a well-aimed ball. That worked out quite well.
Were you able to enjoy yourselves between matches?
‘Yes, the days flew by quickly. Before or between matches we would go for a walk or have a coffee. And of course we had a meeting before every match. In between we studied and played games. When we arrived at the hotel, we found out that the hotel restaurant was open, but there was no food available. Fortunately, there were parents who helped us for three days. They bought food and drinks at a supermarket around the corner so we could still have breakfast and lunch at the hotel. And in the evening we went to a nearby restaurant three times to eat.
Van den Hevel in action against Turkey’s Ege Yildizlari, in which she was involved in six of nine SCHC goals with four goals and two assists (9-0 win). Photo: WorldSportPics/Frank Uijlenbroek
What do you take away from this trip towards the second half of the field season?
‘We were in Lithuania with a lot of young girls. We all gained a lot of experience again with matches that matter. Some girls who haven’t made so many playing minutes on the field played everything here and had an important role in the team. They did that very well. You only get extra confidence from it and we have to take that to the field.’
by Hockey.nl
