It was a good day for Germany in their double header against Belgium as the men drew with the world number one team, beating them on shoot-out and then the women beat Belgium with a dominant 4-0 display. The results keep both German teams in contention for a place in the men's and women's FIH Pro League Grand Finals at the end of the month. Conversely, the result sees Belgium men slip off the top of the FIH Pro League table, leaving Australia in the number one spot.
Much earlier, in a busy day of FIH Pro League action, Australia women performed a remarkable comeback after they turned over a deficit to beat China 3-2 and move to third in the FIH Pro League table.
The fourth match of the day saw Great Britain men put their recent double defeats at the hands of Belgium behind them to record a 3-1 win over Netherlands. That result puts Great Britain in third place in the league, while the Netherlands slip to fifth place, behind Argentina.
To see the current women’s FIH Pro League standings, click here.
To see the current men’s FIH Pro League standings, click here.
China v Australia
China (FIH World Ranking: 10) were made to pay as they failed to make the most of their scoring opportunities. While the host nation dominated possession and had numerous chances to score, it was Australia (WR:3) who emerged as 3-2 winners, courtesy of three goals scored in the final 16 minutes of the game.
The result means Australia remain very much in the race for a place at the Grand Final at the end of June. China, with one game remaining, are in eighth position, ahead of USA.
China took the lead in the opening quarter of the match. The lower ranked team had been putting Australia under a lot of pressure and a cross from Xi Xiayun found Chen Yi, who was able to tip the ball smartly past Rachael Lynch in the Australia goal.
The game really opened up in the second quarter as both teams showed their intent to push forwards. Rebecca Greiner went on a lung-busting run that split the China defence and Jane Claxton was unlucky not to get on the end of the subsequent pass. As the quarter counted down, the home team were very much in the driving seat. Captain Peng Yang thought she had scored a second but it was ruled out on referral.
The third quarter saw much of the same. Australia were working hard to create chances but China had got momentum and always seemed one step ahead. However, with just seconds left in the quarter, China were made to rue not making more of their pressure when Player of the Match Maddie Fitzpatrick was able to send home a scorching penalty corner to level the score.
Australia came into the final quarter with renewed energy, knowing that a win was crucial in their bid to reach the Grand Final. Head Coach Paul Gaudoin asked his players for more and Savannah Fitzpatrick responded with a fantastic backhand shot that Emily Chalker was able to touch into the goal past Ye Jiao.
Rosie Malone extended Australia’s lead when she shot home after a goal mouth scramble and the Hockeyroos felt they had done enough to secure the win. China however, had other ideas and with two minutes on the clock, they removed their keeper and pressed forwards.
The action paid off as Xu Wengyu found the back of the net after Jocelyn Bartram in the Australia goal had made two saves but had been unable to clear her lines.
Unfortunately for China, it was just not enough and Australia finished 3-2 winners.
“Today was hard," said Maddie Fitzpatrick. "China came out and put it to us. We stuck together and stuck to the game plan and ground it out. We need to look at our defence but overall we are pretty pleased with the outcome.”
Belgium v Germany
Germany women got off to a cracking start against Belgium as Player of the Match Charlotte Stapenhorst proved yet again why she is regarded as one of the best strikers in the world. First she latched onto a ball that had been played into the circle, deflecting it into the goal. This was followed with a piece of audacious skill: Stapenhorst bounced the ball on her stick as she ran past the despairing Belgium defenders and then coolly flicked the ball past Aisling D’Hooghe in the Belgium goal.
The intense German pressure continued in the second quarter. Nike Lorenz sent in a fierce penalty corner shot, which D’Hooghe saved but failed to clear. The Belgium keeper then showed her superb athleticism to bounce up and deny Elisa Grave the rebound.
The third quarter saw Belgium coming back into the game. The Red Panthers were now enjoying far more possession, with Ambre Ballenghien and Sophie-Anne Weyns both looking much sharper as they ran at the German defence. However, that progress was halted in its tracks as an overturned ball led to a penalty corner. Rebecca Grote made no mistake as she tucked the ball home to give her team a 3-0 lead.
A last moment of brilliance came from Stapenhorst as she once again bobbled the ball on her stick, showing her amazing 3D skills. With the ball mid-air, she struck it sweetly and it flew goal bound to give Stapenhorst her third goal.
Emilie Sinia nearly scored a consolation goal but Julia Sonntag pulled off a fabulous save to keep a clean sheet.
The result gives Germany their sixth win in the FIH Pro League, bringing them to within one point of Belgium in the table.
“We scored early and that makes for a good feeling," said Stapenhorst. "We defended really well. We learnt a lot from the Argentina game where we conceded late in the game. We have some travelling now – against Netherlands and Great Britain – and we will take all we are learning with us. This was a great team win.”
Barbara Nelen, captain of Belgium was generous in her assessment: “Germany played a really good game and we were a bit off today. We found ourselves chasing the ball. We must be smarter in our press. But today, we have to acknowledge that Germany played a very good game.”
Belgium v Germany
The German men's team could have been forgiven for thinking they had consigned Belgium (WR:1) to a first FIH Pro League defeat. With seven minutes of the match to go, Germany (WR:6) were leading 4-2 and their defence was on fine form. But Belgium have enormous powers of self-belief and resilience and the resulting draw, which saw Germany win the shoot-out bonus point, was a fair reflection of a game between two magnificently competitive teams.
“We know how good Belgium are,” said German Head Coach Stefan Kermas ahead of the game. “We saw how they played against Great Britain. But we will find our own style and play our way. Not all our squad are available today [through injury] but this is about building a squad for not just today but for the challenges ahead.”
His team answered him in some style as they tamed the Red Lions’ star-studded attack force and showed their own immense fire power as they consigned Belgium to a third draw in the FIH Pro league.
As befits the world number one side, Belgium got off to a bright start, threatening the German circle from the first whistle. But it was Germany who made the first mark on the scoreboard in the eighth minute as Tom Grambusch fired home a penalty corner to give his side the lead.
In response Belgium set up their high press and for the remainder of the quarter Germany were forced to defend as Belgium threw everything into the attack. Mathias Muller stepped in with some crucial tackles and goalkeeper Victor Aly was called upon to make some point blank saves, but Germany withheld the storm.
Germany continued to build momentum in the second quarter and created some good chances but it was Belgium who scored next. The equaliser came from Tanguy Cosyns after a deft pass from captain Thomas Briels played him through for a one-on-one with Aly.
Belgium’s second goal was pure class. Tom Boon showed great 3D skills to make his way into the German circle and his pass found Gougnard who was able to pick his spot to put the ball past Aly.
A series of four penalty corners at the end of the half offered Germany a chance to equalise. Vanasch was up to the challenge and saved the first three but finally the wall was breached and Grambusch claimed his second goal to bring the teams equal going into the break.
The third quarter had a simmering quality to it. The teams probed away at each other but both defensive units were in top form. It needed a moment of magic to unlock the match and that was provided by Player of the Match Florian Fuchs who weaved his way through the Belgium defence before laying the ball off to Wellen, who made no mistake as he launched the ball into the roof of the net.
The next goal was a demonstration of fast, one touch passing. Marco Miltkau was on hand to slap the ball home after a series of quick movements to work the ball up the pitch.
From attack to defence, Germany were on form in the third quarter. Aly pulled off a great double save as first Nicolas de Kerpel and then John-John Dohmen attempted to get their team back into the game.
And so to the last 15 minutes of this intriguing and oh-so entertaining fixture. With seven minutes left Cosyns scored his second: he latched onto a cross and his touch guided the ball into the corner of Aly’s goal.
The script writers then added the perfect touch to the play that was unfolding before us. Alexander Hendrickx, playing in his 100th game for Belgium, scored a rasping penalty corner to bring the scores level with five minutes left to play.
A frenetic last minute saw both teams pushing for the win but a thrilling match finished 4-4, a fitting end to supreme efforts from two magnificently competitive teams.
The classy performances continued in the shoot-out. Belgium looked to be on their way to victory as Briels, Victor Wegnez and Cosyns scored but saves from Aly brought Germany back into the contest and Johannes Grosse was on hand to score the winning shoot-out goal.
Netherlands v Great Britain
An open, free-flowing first quarter saw both teams creating openings. The first penalty corner was won by David Condon, whose surging run drew the foul. Phil Roper’s shot was chased down and the subsequent foul gave Great Britain (WR:7) a second chance from the top of the circle. This time Pirmin Blaak in the Netherlands (WR:3) goal cleared confidently.
Great Britain continued to exploit the right-hand side of the pitch and a great run by Will Calnan was topped by a fantastic shot that left Blaak unable to respond.
The lead was short-lived as, just two minutes later, Mink van der Weerden put the first Netherland’s penalty corner straight into the roof of the Great Britain net, out of reach of Harry Gibson in goal.
The second quarter was equally open. Condon had a great chance to extend his side’s lead but his shot flew wide. At the other end, Gibson was called upon to deal with two more Netherlands’ penalty corners, and with Henry Weir doing a great job chasing down the first shot, the score-sheet remained equal.
“We need to tidy a few things up going into this second half. We are making some changes to our approach,” said Great Britain’s Head Coach Danny Kerry. His counterpart, Max Caldas said that he was looking for his team to clear up some of the “sloppy” mistakes that had crept into the Netherlands’ play.
The third quarter was a bit of a physical and mental grind as both teams tried to deal with the heat and intensity of the game. It was Great Britain whose persistence paid off when Sam Ward scored in the dying seconds of the quarter – a typically instinctive goal that came as the result of a lovely piece of team passing play.
That goal acted as a spur to Great Britain as they came out for the fourth quarter. The sound of the whistle had barely ended when Player of the Match Jack Wallace slipped the ball to Chris Griffiths, who stepped into the Dutch circle and smashed the ball home to extend his side’s lead to 3-1.
As the quarter closed down, Kerry’s men showed a lot of experience as they managed the game and quelled any sign of a Dutch revival.
That said, with less than two minutes remaining, the Netherlands won two successive penalty corners. Once again, Weir charged van der Weerden’s fierce shot down and the danger passed.
The result, a fifth win, sees Great Britain more back up the FIH Pro League table into third place ahead of Argentina and Netherlands.
Speaking after the game, Great Britian's Jack Wallace said: “It was incredible playing in Holland, a great atmosphere, great crowds. We came in on the back of two tough matches against Belgium. Today we were composed in defence, but we kept moving the ball quickly and they couldn’t get near us. We had some things to learn from earlier games, and I think we did that today.”
The hockey action just keeps coming throughout June. The next matches in the women's competition sees the Netherlands host European neighbours Germany in Eindhoven on 17:30 CET on Tuesday 4 June. That match is followed by an encounter between Netherlands men and New Zealand at 20:00 CET. To see the complete match schedule, 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
Sunday 2 June
Result: Women’s Match 52
Changzhou, China
China 2, Australia 3
Player of the Match: Maddie Fitzpatrick (AUS)
Umpires: Karen Bennett (NZL), Emi Yamada(JPN) and Kelly Hudson (NZL - video)
Result: Women’s Match 53
Antwerp, Belgium
Belgium 0, Germany 4
Player of the Match: Charlotte Stapenhorst (GER)
Umpires: Sarah Wilson (SCO), Carolina de la Fuentes (ARG) and Dan Barstow (ENG - Video)
Result: Men's Match 36
Antwerp, Belgium
Belgium 4, Germany 4 (Germany win shoot-out)
Player of the Match: Florian Fuchs (GER)
Umpires: Dan Barstow (ENG), Martin Maddens (SCO) and Sarah Wilson (SCO - video)
Result: Men's Match 37
Eindhoven, Netherlands
Netherlands 1, Great Britain 3
Player of the Match: Jack Wallace (GBR)
Umpires: Jacob Mejzlik (CZE), Ben Goentgen (GER) and Laurine Delforge (BEL - Video).
