New Delhi: A sole goal from Billy Bakker gave the Netherlands a 1-0 victory over Australia in the second Pool B match of Day 2 at the Hero Hockey World League Finals.
35 minutes of cagey hockey was uncharacteristic of these two attack-minded teams, but with the Netherlands still reeling from their defeat at the hands of Argentina, and Australia mindful that the men in orange might be coming back with a vengeance, this was always going to be a tactical encounter.
That said, there was plenty of action on the pitch with both goalkeepers being forced to make important saves and the Netherlands hitting the post twice in the early minutes of the game.
Frustrations with the lack of a breakthrough was obvious when both teams were told to calm down by the match officials.
A series of penalty corners for the world champions drew some great saves from the Netherlands goalkeeper Jaap Stockman, and at the end of the first 35 minutes Australia had marginally enjoyed the better first half.
The second half saw the Netherlands seize their chance just three minutes after the restart. A tremendous piece of skill by Billy Bakker saw him junk through the defence and shoot from a wide angle past goalkeeper Tyler Lovell.
The Netherlands were reduced to 10 men when Bob de Voogd was dismissed for a rash tackle, but the Kookaburras were unable to take advantage and, in fact, it was Lovell who was forced into making a good save from a rising shot.
As the game reached the final stages it was the Olympic silver medalists who created the greater pressure, forcing a fine save from Lovell, but then the dismissal of Seve van Ass meant the Netherlands endured a torrid few minutes of defending. This included two penalty corners with just 90 seconds remaining in the game, both dealt with by Stockmann.
Speaking post their win Netherlands Coach Paul Van Ass said, “team played with heart today, though technically we are still to achieve that mark. Both sides got their fair chance to score but we were better today in converting. The boys played as a team and that’s what ensured us the win today”
Speaking on their loss Australian Coach Ric Charlesworth said, “we got many opportunities but the boys were not able to convert them. A disappointing match for us today, we has 7 corners and they had a few which they converted successfully”