Pro-League: Germany Come Back Stuns the Dutch

FIH Pro League: Germany vs. Netherlands 4:1 (0:1)

4:1 against the Netherlands! – Honamas with prestige success

What a game !!! In the end it was 4:1 for the Honamas in Hamburg in the second game in the FIH Pro League this weekend against the Netherlands. In the revenge for the defeat of the day before, the spectators saw a dominant German team, especially in the second half, which gave the leaders of the FIH Pro League no chance. The goals for the German team – after Koen Bijen was 0:1 behind in the 3rd minute – were scored by Moritz Ludwig (31st minute), Marco Miltkau (36th minute), Niklas Bosserhoff (47th minute) and Constantin Staib ( 49 minutes).

Early deficit for the German team

The game started extremely unfavorably for the Honamas. In the 3rd minute, Koen Bijen scored the 1-0 for the Dutch after a dream pass from Thierry Brinkman. The German team then got into the game better and better and created promising chances in the opposing circle through high pressing – Hannes Müller in the 4th minute and Constantin Staib in the 9th minute could not complete the 1:1. It stayed 0-1 after the first quarter.

The Dutch started the second quarter with high speed and pressure, but neither team was able to gain a big advantage. The Germans had more possession in the middle of the quarter and had a great chance in the 24th minute through Jonas Gomoll. As a result, active Honamas repeatedly made dangerous circle entries. The German team survived a majority shortly before the end of the quarter thanks to solid defence. The first half ended with the intermediate score of 1:0 in a fast-paced, intense game.

Honamas offensive fireworks in the second half

The second half started with aggressive Dutchmen. Koen Bijen had the 2-0 on the bat after a few seconds, but failed at the good mood German goalkeeper Niklas Garst. The German team countered the visitors’ initial offensive with an equalizer in the 31st minute: Moritz Ludwig, after a very good run, appeared free in front of the guest keeper and, after perfect preliminary work from Theo Hinrichs, made it 1-1 – Ludwig’s first goal in the senior national team. The German team remained active and developed dangerous circle situations. The third penalty corner within a few minutes was completed by Marko Milkau in the 36th minute after a good combination with Gonzalo Peillat with a corner kick to make it 2:1 – the German team had turned the game around within 5 minutes. The Honamas continued to pose problems for the Dutch team as a result. And chances every minute were the result: Thies Prinz failed in the 42nd minute from the turn, five penalty corners in the third quarter alone were for the Germans. At the end of the 3rd quarter, the Honamas were only 2-1 up – quite flattering for the Netherlands.

The German team also started the fourth quarter with a lot of energy. The result is 3:1: after an initially blocked penalty corner, Niklas Bosserhoff scored the Honamas’ third goal with a flick in the 47th minute, with Dutch goalkeeper Pirmin Blaak mistakenly speculating on a shot outside the circle. The Germans stayed on and just two minutes later made it 4-1 through Constanin Staib after a cross from Christopher Stir. As a result, the Dutch tried everything again, but the German defense withstood the pressure.

First defeat for the Netherlands

The German team’s win was the Netherlands’ first loss in twelve games of the current FIH Hockey Pro League season. For the German team, the 2021/2022 season in the FIH Pro League ends with 8 wins and 2 shoot-out wins from 16 games and is currently 4th in the table.

Comments on the game:

André Henning, national coach: “After we were the better team yesterday but didn’t reward ourselves, today was the right answer on so many levels. The boys played extremely good hockey, especially in the second half, and at the same time showed a fantastic fighting spirit. Mentally, tactically and also individually we have made noticeable progress. We have now won ten out of twelve Pro League games in this constellation. That’s a very good rate. A strong end to a really good season.”

Christopher Rühr: “The energy was good the whole time today, you could already feel that in the warm-up. We wanted to win our last game of the season and be the team to beat the Netherlands and end their run. During the break, the coach said that we should play faster with the ball, but we’re good in the game. That was a good second half but not a world-class half, there is still a lot more to it. It was very nice to play in front of a home crowd and the fans gave us momentum. We have a laughing and a crying eye because it was the last home game this year. Now we all need a little vacation, you could tell in the two games that the batteries were empty, even after the emotional Final4 last week. The summer is then there to bring oneself up to a level athletically in order to endure the exertions in autumn and winter and then to play a successful World Cup.

Nikolas Garst: “The game was very calm for me, which made me very happy because it was an incredibly good defensive performance. We allowed very few shots on goal and the Dutch didn’t have many corners either. After we secured counterattacks in the second half, I was able to enjoy our own counterattacks and corners. As a hamburger, the backdrop was of course great. The atmosphere was good and it was really cool to be able to play here.”

Game details: