"VAN" (Sports Desk - 15.12.2025) :: The Irish leg of the FIH Hockey Pro League came to a close with tightly contested battles. England and Belgium renewed their rivalry in the men’s competition, while England’s women edged hosts Ireland in a hard-fought encounter played in front of a passionate home crowd.
In Argentina, Los Leones delivered a dominant display against Pakistan to underline their growing confidence this season, while the women’s meeting between Argentina and the Netherlands was ultimately decided by the weather, with safety concerns forcing the cancellation of the final match of the series.
(Men’s) England 2 – 3 Belgium
A 3–2 win for Belgium over England avenged their earlier penalty shootout loss to the same opponents, in a match where Victor Wegnez celebrated his 200th cap.
Belgium enjoyed significant possession and territorial advantage in the opening quarter with Thomas Crols pulling a half chance shot wide and Thibeau Stockbroekx seeing his deflection gloved away brilliantly by Oliver Payne. However, England took the lead from a rare attack in the 10th minute when Nicholas Parks reacted quickest to a blocked shot and slammed the loose ball home. They had another good chance on the hooter but pushed the shot wide. The Belgians kept applying pressure through the second quarter and it finally paid off with drag flicks from Alexander Hendrickx and Tom Boon edging them 2-1 ahead by half time.
Will Calnan levelled the score for England with a 34th-minute tap-in, the ball floating to him in open space near the left post after Loic van Doren had saved the first shot. Six minutes later, Boon received a long pass through the centre of the pitch and Payne did very well to come off his line and stop the first shot. But the ball dropped straight back to Boon, who looped it neatly over Payne’s head to restore Belgium’s lead. They then controlled the final quarter with most of the play happening in the middle third of the pitch, and the English had to pull off their goalkeeper to chase a result. They gave themselves a chance from a penalty corner with just seven seconds left on the clock, but the shot went wide to wrap up the Irish leg of the men’s competition.
The player of the match was awarded to Belgium’s Tom Boon, who said: “We really came out here to win. England gave us a pretty hard time. The battle was from a high level, especially physically, but at the end we managed to win. I think it was important for us to end this year on a really good note.”
(Women’s) Ireland 1 – 2 England
England brought down the curtain on the Irish leg of the FIH Hockey Pro League with a 2-1 win over an Irish team that fought for absolutely everything on an afternoon when Kathryn Mullan celebrated her 250th cap for Ireland in front of a vocal home crowd
Holly Micklem had plenty of work to do in the Irish goal as England came out firing in the first quarter. Tessa Howard gave the English the lead in the 4th minute, stretching ahead of the defenders and nailing her first-time slap into the roof of the net. Ireland controlled possession and territory for a long period through the middle of the half, but they didn’t really threaten the circle. England, by contrast, looked dangerous on the ball and they could easily have led by more than 1-0 at half time.
The English regained the ascendancy in the third quarter by controlling the pace of the game with patient passing and long periods of possession. Ireland managed to keep them out until the 50th minute when Holy Hunt eventually found the net with a reverse stick shot that deflected in off the post. The goal seemed to spur the Irish into action and they pulled one back in the 53rd, Caoimhe Perdue finding the target with a drag flick for her first international goal. Ireland sacrificed their goalkeeper to have a full crack with five minutes remaining, and almost immediately had England scrambling to break down a great circle entry. It was frantic end-to-end hockey at the death, but while Ireland finished the match attacking the circle, they couldn’t create another opportunity for an equaliser.
England’s Katie Curtis was named as the player of the match and said: “We’re buzzing to get three points, I think the mood in camp really needed this. It was a fight at the end. I think we played well in the first half, maybe the first three, and then the last quarter it became a bit of a fight.”
(Men’s) Argentina 5 – 1 Pakistan
Argentina delivered a commanding 5–1 win over Pakistan, combining penalty-corner efficiency with sharp aerial play to take control early and never look back.
Nicolas della Torre opened the scoring with a powerful penalty corner drag flick that deflected in off Pakistan defender Muhammad Abdullah. Los Leones looked in fine form from the outset, controlling the game through midfield and repeatedly stretching Pakistan’s defensive line with long aerials. One such aerial was brought down by Joaquín Toscani, who beat his defender before sending a bouncing ball through the circle for Bautista Capurro to deflect past goalkeeper Muneeb Ur-Rehman, giving Argentina a 2–0 lead after the opening quarter.
Maico Casella played a key role in Argentina’s third goal. After delivering the initial ball into the circle to create pressure, Pakistan turned possession over while trying to clear. Casella was the next recipient, found space and delivered a superb pass across goal, allowing Capurro to tap in his second of the match.
Pakistan started the third quarter with renewed intent, sparked by a fine individual effort from Waheed Ashraf Rana. Rana drove through the Argentine circle and, found room in his back space before smashing a shot high in to the mesh to reduce the deficit. Argentina responded with their fourth when Tadeo Marcucci sent a precision pass to spring Tomas Domene. Domene’s backhand effort forced a rebound, which Tobias Martins reacted to quickly and finished neatly. Domene then capped a strong performance by earning and converting a penalty corner with a low drag flick to make it 5–1. A scoreless final quarter followed as Argentina comfortably saw out the match and celebrated a convincing three points.
After the match, Argentina’s Tomas Domene was named Player of the Match for the second night in a row. He said: “It was a really important win because if we know if we can play easy and connect as a team we will get some chances. Today we showed that and so we are happy with the result tonight and this week. We are happy with where the team is at as we build towards the World Cup.”
(Women’s) Argentina vs Netherlands
The final match of the series between Argentina and the Netherlands was cancelled due to severe weather conditions. Although both teams completed their warm-up, they were sent off the pitch following thunder and lightning warnings. After waiting for more than an hour, the decision was taken in consultation with the FIH and the Technical Director to cancel the match in the interest of player and official safety.
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