The Netherlands landed bronze from the men’s EuroHockey Indoor Championships for the second successive edition following a comprehensive 10-3 win over Switzerland.
The Swiss were hoping to win a medal for the first time since 2003 but they came unstuck early on and were never able to get a foothold in the tie.
The Dutch dominated the first half with Boris Burkhardt scoring a glorious shot on the spin; Wiegert Schut finished off a lovely team move and Jochem Bakker found an acute angle from the left baseline for 3-0.
Max Sweering added a stroke and Nicki Leijs was on target from a corner for a 5-0 lead before Switzerland rallied just before the break. Martin Gredler applied a perfect first-time finish to get on the scoreboard while Boris Stomps had a goal initially given but then disallowed with a diving flick.
Fabio Reinhard continued that momentum with an early goal in the second half but the Dutch raced away again in Q3 with goals from Sweering, Burkhardt and Jasper Tukkers, 9-2.
And they closed out the win without too much hassle, Bakker netting his 12th goal of the tournament to help them hit double figures.
He said afterwards he was happy the team “finished the tournament this way. We could have done more but we let it slip in the game against the Swiss so it is what it is but happy it how it end.
“We started with a lot more energy than yesterday. That was the key for us, play with energy, play with guts.
“We had a tournament of ups and downs, some good games, some bad parts but that’s what it is. Really enjoyed it. Before the tournament, we said we wanted a medal and the colour will be determined by performances!”
In the fifth-sixth playoff, Philippe Simar scored an incredible seven times to help Belgium to a 9-7 win over the Czech Republic, putting him in the mix of the top scorer prize.
It brought his total to 20 for the tournament, including 15 from play, as they finished their tournament on a high note. His side were on the front foot for most of the first half with Simar’s three first half goals helping them lead 4-2 at half-time.
A trio of Czech goals in the third quarter saw them lead briefly at 5-4 but another four from Simar in the last 12 minutes propelled them to the win despite the best efforts of Lukas Plochy who finished with four goals to his name.
