FIH Hockey Pro League action headed to Utrecht in the Netherlands on Saturday with the home side on the cusp of wrapping up a second straight title. The odds were stacked against their opposition, Germany, who had not beaten the Dutch in regulation time since the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Returning to action for the first time since February, the impressive Dutch ultimately had no trouble in claiming a dominant win – their 13th from 13 this season – to secure their fourth FIH Hockey Pro League title in total.
(Women’s) Netherlands 4 – 0 Germany
The Netherlands made a triumphant return to international duty with a comfortable 4-0 win over Germany, securing the FIH Hockey Pro League title with three matches still to play. The first half was evenly contested and it was essentially two sharp plays from the Dutch that made all the difference.
The prolific Yibbi Jansen fired them ahead from a quickly taken free hit in the 8th minute. It was then Luna Fokke who laid off to Jansen before covering 20m to complete a sensational deflection and double the home side’s lead.
The third quarter was hotly contested with both teams squandering a single penalty corner opportunity each.
The final period served up plenty of action, the Dutch stealing the ball from the pushback to win a penalty corner which Jansen rocketed home to extend her lead at the top of the women’s goal-scoring list with 1an impressive 17 goals so far this season.
Frédérique Matla then slotted in a drag flick two minutes later for her side to put one hand on the trophy. And while the Germans had a strong spell in the middle of the quarter, it was not enough to make any dent in the significant deficit, with the Dutch reasserting control to close out the match and with that, the title.
A delighted Freeke Moes was awarded the player of the match for the Netherlands and said: “This is the first game after we had holiday, we’ve been not long together, so I think it’s nice that we won today and that we won the Pro League, so we are happy about that.”
Top Scorer Armband
To celebrate the talented goal-scorers throughout the season the FIH has introduced the Top Scorer Armband, which is being worn by the leading goal-scorers in the men's and women's competitions in the current season, as a visual mark for the fans, and for the players to wear proudly, match after match.
Current Top Scorers:
Women - Yibbi Jansen (NED) (17 goals)
Men – Blake Govers (AUS) / Jip Janssen (NED) / Harmanpreet Singh (IND) (12 goals)
To see the current standings in the FIH Hockey Pro League, click here.
FIH Hockey Pro League – 22 June 2024
SV Kampong, Utrecht (NED)
WOMEN
Result: Match 65 (W)
Netherlands 4 - 0 Germany
Player of the match: Freeke Moes (NED)
Umpires: Rachel Williams (ENG), Wanri Venter (RSA), Hannah Harrison (ENG-video)
