"VAN" (Sports Desk - 12.06.2025) :: FIH Hockey Pro League action continued in Amsterdam on Wednesday with three absorbing encounters.
The Dutch women were riding high after routing Australia over the weekend, but they were made to dig deep against a gritty Spain to hold on for a one-goal victory.
With the men's tournament still wide open, Argentina chalked up valuable points against India, while the Netherlands stretched their lead at the top of the table after being given a run for their money against Ireland.
(Women's) Netherlands 3 – 2 Spain
The Netherlands were made to work incredibly hard for their narrow 3-2 win over a physical Spanish team.
The hosts started well, testing Maria Tello in the Spanish goal as early as the second minute. It seemed to be business as usual for the Dutch when Yibbi Jansen scored with a big ninth-minute drag flick. Xan de Waard doubled the lead a minute later, carrying strongly in the circle and flicking in from close range. The Dutch were threatening to run away with the match, but Estel Petchamé kept Spain in touch with her excellent 21st-minute deflection from open play. The Netherlands led 2-1 at half time.
The Spanish applied plenty of pressure through a goalless third quarter, and an excellent reflex save from goalkeeper Jana Martínez denied the Dutch a goal early in the fourth. Jansen released some of that pressure, completing her brace with a 51st-minute drag flick. However, Xantal Gine responded immediately for Spain, her penalty stroke reducing the deficit back to just one goal. Spain pulled off their goalkeeper in the final 30 seconds and very nearly snatched a draw. A clear opportunity went begging when the ball struck an unmarked attacker's foot inside the circle, and the Dutch held on for a narrow victory.
Joosje Burg of the Netherlands received the player of the match award and said: "Quite a difficult game. I think Spain is really technical and they had good pressure, and for us it was really a tough game, to play against them."
(Men's) Argentina 4 – 3 India
Argentina kept their tournament hopes alive with a 4-3 win over India, who switched off at critical moments in the match.
While the first half was fairly evenly contested, India conceded two soft goals to hand the advantage to the Argentinians. An absolute howler from the Indian defence gifted Matias Ray possession in space at the top of the circle. His blistering strike clattered off the right post and into the goal off the back of the goalkeeper's glove. India finished the opening quarter well and Harmanpreet Singh found the equaliser with a 12th-minute drag flick. Lucas Martinez restored Argentina's lead in the 17th minute though, when his slip under the shoulder somehow found the goal without taking any deflections.
A penalty stroke from Harmanpreet Singh in the 33rd minute levelled matters at 2-2, but Santiago Tarazona immediately reclaimed the lead for Argentina, tapping in neatly from a pass off the baseline. Abhishek again restored parity with his 42nd-minute field goal, finishing well off the goalkeeper's pads from open play. But Argentina got their nose in front again just 18 seconds into the final quarter, Lucio Mendez combining great aerial skills with a sharp reverse finish from congested play around the p-spot. India tried everything to fight back, including pulling their goalkeeper out, but it was a case of too many errors on the day.
Argentina's Lucio Mendez was named the player of the match and said: "It was a really tough match. I think we did our job, that is defend, and attack when we have the chances. But the most important thing I think was to defend really good with 11 players."
(Men's) Netherlands 2 – 0 Ireland
The Netherlands didn't have things all their own way in a 2-0 win over the hard-working Irish, and it certainly didn't play out like a clash between the top and bottom sides in the standings.
The Dutch had the better of the opening quarter, forcing Irish goalkeeper Jamie Carr to make a couple of excellent saves, and having a goal overturned on review for a back stick. Both teams created circle entries through the second quarter before Luke Dommershuijzen broke the deadlock, with his 24th-minute drag flick giving the Dutch a 1-0 lead at half time.
Steijn van Heijningen doubled the lead in the 38th minute, when his big deflection from the top of the circle completely caught Carr off guard with the dramatic change in angle. Carr managed to save a similar deflection in the 44th minute, and the Irish defence ran down a flurry of penalty corners to end the third quarter trailing by just two. Ireland then started showing signs of fatigue from their monumental defensive efforts, but still managed to create two good opportunities in the final period. The Netherlands looked comfortable winners in the end though, and might have scored plenty more goals without the heroics of Carr and the Irish defence.
The player of the match was Luke Dommershuijzen of the Netherlands, who said: "At the beginning we had some issues with the build-up and I think we created a lot of chances but we didn't finish them."
Current Hero Top Scorers:
Women – Yibbi Jansen (NED) (11 goals)
Men – Tom Boon (BEL) (14 goals)
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