Dutch men sneak another shootout win as Chinese women edge England

Day two of the new FIH Hockey Pro League season saw hosts China claiming their first maximum points of the tournament in Hangzhou after coming from behind in an action-packed match to beat England’s women.

Over in Amsterdam, there was another nerve-racking finish for the Dutch men who played out to second consecutive 1-1 draw – this time with neighbours Belgium – but then again claimed the extra point with victory in the ensuing shootout.

(Women’s) China 2 - 1 England

Hosts China fought back from a goal down to pip England 2-1 in an enthralling encounter. England had the better of an opening quarter that played out like a highlights package with fast, end-to-end hockey and plenty of shots from both teams. Debutant Becky Manton had the perfect start to her international career, needing just 30 seconds to fire England ahead with a field goal. Megan Crowson then struck her shot wide in the fourth minute before China had their first opportunity a minute later, a hard cross finding Dan Wen who fired her shot on target for Miriam Pritchard to save.

Darcy Bourne got another shot on target for England in the seventh minute, but Liu Ping made the first of her match-winning saves. Zhang Wen equalised for China in the ninth minute, cleaning up the scraps in front of the goalkeeper. Ping then made another crucial save after Becky Manton dispossessed the Chinese defence just outside the circle and got a clean shot away.

China wrested control away from the English in the second quarter, dominating possession throughout and probing the English circle repeatedly with direct ball in, but the English defence held firm under pressure. The English looked bright on their rare attacks and Manton nearly grabbed a goal as the half came to an end.

China continued to dominate play in the third quarter, earning their first penalty corner in the 31^st minute only to be denied by an excellent double save from Pritchard. England were struggling with their outlets from defence and turned over a tremendous amount of possession in midfield, and the pressure told as Yu Anhui restored China’s lead in the 59^th minute with an exceptional penalty corner deflection at the right post.

England raised their intensity in the final quarter as China started to fade, creating opportunities and half chances at regular intervals. The best chances fell to Manton for a ferocious reverse stick shot in the 55^th minute, and Bourne in the final minute, but Ping was excellent in China’s goal.

The Player of the Match was awarded to goalkeeper Liu Ping of China who believes there is still room for improvement, saying: “We need to start sharper. We started a little bit too relaxed, they got a goal, so we have to start sharper.”

(Men’s) Netherlands 1 - 1 Belgium (SO: 3 - 1)

The Netherlands played out a thrilling 1-1 draw with Belgium for a share of the points before going on to clinch the shootout 3-1 for a bonus point.

The Dutch adopted a direct aerial attacking game while the Belgians were patient and enjoyed long periods of possession. It nearly went wrong for the Red Lions in the eighth minute when Terrance Pieters intercepted a poor transition across the back, but the defence scrambled well to recover. Soon after, Tom Boon popped a cheeky shot over the Dutch keeper, but it floated inches past the goal, and Floris Wortelboer flashed one wide for the Dutch. Thibeau Stockbroekx then put his shot wide in the 14^th minute, but he was on target seconds later, poaching the opening goal for the visitors from loose ball near the right post.

The second quarter was much tighter from both teams with few opportunities. The Dutch were denied by Loic van Doren after a quick breakout, but they equalised with a goal of the highest quality in the 25^th minute. Bijen dived to deflect a pass across the keeper for his captain Thijs van Dam to tap in at the left post.

Belgium started the second half well, forcing an excellent save from Derk Meijer and having a Boon deflection shave the upright. They also had a flurry of chances to clinch the match in the 56^th minute, Boggard firing wide and Roman Duvekot striking the crossbar, while Antoine Kina had a shot saved shortly thereafter. The Dutch had a penalty corner to potentially steal the win in the final minute, but Jip Janssen rather uncharacteristically miscued his drag flick, sending the match to a shootout where the hosts prevailed in front of a thrilled home crowd.

The Netherlands’ Koen Bijen was named Player of the Match and said: “I think Belgium was better today. We missed a bit the passion and emotion and the proudness to play for the country – we did it better but we have to improve in a lot of things.”

Current Hero Top Scorers:

Women – Xu Wenyu (CHN), Zou Meirong (CHN), Zhang Wen (CHN), Yu Anhui (CHN), Michelle Struijk (BEL), Justine Rasir (BEL), Becky Manton (ENG) (1 goal)

Men – Thierry Brinkman (NED), Thijs van Dam (NED), Raphael Hartkopf (GER), Thibeau Stockbroekx (BEL) (1 goal)

To see the current standings in the FIH Hockey Pro League, click here.

FIH Hockey Pro League – 1 December 2024

Gongshu Canal Sports Park Hockey Stadium, Hangzhou (CHN)

WOMEN

Result: Match Result: Match 2 (W)

China 2 - 1 England

Player of the match: Liu Ping (CHN)

Umpires: Deepak Joshi (IND), Rama Potnis (IND), Lim Hong-Zhen (SGP-video)

Wagener Stadion, Amsterdam (NED)

MEN

Result: Match 2 (M)

Netherlands 1 - 1 Belgium (SO: 3 - 1)

Player of the match: Koen Bijen (NED)

Umpires: Sean Edwards (ENG), Gemma Calderon (ESP), Rebecca Edwards (ENG-video)