Blake Govers and Jeremy Hayward scored two penalty corners apiece as Australia claimed their tenth win in fourteen FIH Pro League matches with a 4-1 victory over the Netherlands at Amsterdam’s Wagener Stadium on Saturday (22 June).
The fans turned out in their thousands to witness an entertaining yet heavily delayed contest between two undisputed giants of world hockey, with the Kookaburras scoring four out of eight penalty corners to defeat the hosts and enter next week’s FIH Pro League Grand Final event - which takes place in the Wagener Stadium - in confident mood.
While the Netherlands are certain to be competing at next week’s showpiece event, today’s defeat could prove significant in terms of the line-up for the semi-finals. A point for Olympic champions Argentina in their meeting with world champions Belgium in Antwerp on Sunday (22 June) would see the South Americans move above the Netherlands and into third in the standings, meaning the Argentina would face second-placed Belgium in their semi-final. In turn, a fourth place finish for the Netherlands would set up a semi-final against Australia, who finished first in the league phase. However, should Argentina lose and Great Britain defeat New Zealand on Sunday, Great Britain would finish fourth while Argentina would miss out. Great Britain would then face Australia in the semi-finals, with Belgium playing the Netherlands in the other semi. To see the current men’s FIH Pro League standings, click here.
A bumper crowd turned out on a gloriously sunny day in Amsterdam to witness two of the finest attacking sides in the game, as the Netherlands (FIH World Ranking: 3) welcomed FIH Pro League table-toppers Australia (WR:2) to the Wagener Stadium. Unfortunately, a problem with the pitch watering system forced the start of the match to be delayed by two hours, with the local fire brigade coming to the rescue and receiving a huge ovation from the fans in recognition of their efforts to water the surface and get this highly anticipated contest underway.
The knowledgeable Dutch hockey crowd arrived knowing that in the reverse fixture, played in Melbourne in February, the Orange had overturned a 5-2 deficit to draw the match 5-5 before winning the shoot-out for the bonus point. That result suggested that there could be plenty of goals in this one, and it certainly started that way. Of the three penalty corners awarded in the first quarter, all three were converted as Australia took a 2-1 lead into the quarter-time break. Blake Govers slammed an unstoppable drag-flick into the bottom left corner to give the Kookaburras the lead in the fifth minute, a strike cancelled out just two minutes later by Jip Janssen before Jeremy Hayward put the visitors back in front.
Govers had three penalty corner chances in the second quarter, scoring the third of those opportunities to establish a 3-1 lead for Oceania champions over the champions of Europe. It was a tenth goal in the FIH Pro League for the prolific 22-year-old, moving him level with Spain’s Pau Quemada at the top of the scoring charts. Bob de Voogd went close towards the end of the second period when he was picked out by a sensational backhand pass from Billy Bakker, but the deflected effort travelled just wide of the target.
The Netherlands had the better of the third quarter with Mirco Pruijser and Jelle Galema both going close in addition to some wasted penalty corner opportunities. Those chances were punished when Australia won a penalty corner of they own, with Jeremy Hayward scoring his second goal of the match with another low drag-flick to put the Australians 4-1 up and out of sight.
The hosts rallied hard in the final quarter, but the Kookaburras stopped their opponents from adding to Janssen's first quarter goal, sealing a win that will only add to their already soaring confidence level going into next week’s FIH Pro League Grand Final event at this very venue.
“It was a pretty good game, we are pretty happy with that”, said Jeremy Hayward, who was named Player of the Match. “They got a few chances no doubt, but I think we are now just going to get ready for next week in the Finals. We’ll take a couple of days off, then we’ll be out here training, getting used to the turf and getting ready for the Finals.”
The FIH Pro League continued later on Saturday (22 June) when while USA host Germany at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. On Sunday (23 June), the Netherlands women take on Australia in Amsterdam, a day that will also see double headers in Antwerp and London. Belgium’s men and women play Argentina at Antwerp’s Wilrijkse Plein while Great Britain’s men and women take on New Zealand in a groundbreaking and historic fixture at the Twickenham Stoop. To see a complete list of fixtures, click here.
Keep up to date with all the latest news on the FIH Pro League via the event website and through FIH social media channels - Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
FIH Pro League - 22 June 2019
Wagener Stadium, Amsterdam (NED)
Result: Men’s Match 54
Netherlands 1, Australia 4
Player of the Match: Jeremy Hayward (AUS)
Umpires: Simon Taylor (NZL), Peter Wright (RSA) and Amber Church (NZL - video)
#FIHProLeague
