Lausanne, Switzerland: The penultimate day of action in the FIH Pro League dealt up three matches that were all very different in nature.
In the men’s event, the Netherlands beat Spain 4-3 in their penultimate match of the FIH Pro League season.
In a manner you would expect of the champions, the men in orange hit the ground at top speed and Thierry Brinkman was perfectly positioned to open the scoring from close range in the fourth minute.
The lead was doubled a few minutes later when a beautiful cross field aerial was received by Floris Wortelboer on the edge of the Spanish circle. He played the ball to Jelle Galema who slotted it past Mario Garin in the Spanish goal.
Spain fought back and it was a clever and audacious goal that opened their account. Alvaro Inglesias dribbled the ball along the Netherlands’ baseline before shaping up to pass it back. As the defence and goalkeeper all fell for the feint, he was able to squeeze the ball home.
Immediately after the break, Spain were able to benefit from a player advantage. Laars Balk received a green card and Spain instantly went on the attack. Although Maurits Visser in the Netherlands’ goal was able to stop the first wave of Spanish attack, he could do nothing about the crisply taken shot from the top of the circle by Ignacio Rodriguez.
Belgium women beat USA 5-0
Belgium put a disappointing first half performance behind them to rack up a 5-0 win over USA while China women continued to rebuild under their new leadership team as they enjoyed a comfortable victory over a very inexperienced German side.
The intensity ramped up in HC Den Bosch when the new FIH Pro League champions Netherlands men and the unpredictable Spanish team treated the spectators to a display of pacy, intense, sometimes dazzling and sometimes chaotic hockey.
(FIH Media)
