Netherlands – New Zealand 3-3 (1-2 halftime)
Much like their female counterparts, the Dutch men had their hands
full today in their Rabobank Hockey World League Semi-Final debut, and
like the women, they were able to salvage a point from the outing in a
3-3 draw against #6 New Zealand.
Jeroen Hertzberger opened the scoring with a penalty stroke goal in the 19th
minute. It was a mirror start to the women, who also netted a
first-half penalty stroke. But unlike the women’s game, the New Zealand
men had an immediate response when Hug Inglis struck with a field goal a
minute later. Inglis gave the Black Sticks the 2-1 lead three minutes
before the break when he deflected a shot from Phil Burrows from nearly
midfield.
The game could have gone either way when the second half started as
it was a see-saw battle in the first ten minutes of the stanza. But the
tide turned in New Zealand’s favor when Jacob Smith was in an ideal
position in the slot and got a perfect pass to complete the play for the
3-1 lead.
Herzberger got the Dutch within striking distance when
he put in a short corner goal with 15 minutes left in regulation and
just over two minutes later, a field goal from Valentin Verga pulled the
hosts even with New Zealand, setting up a grand showdown in the last 10
minutes. The grand showdown turned more into a slow simmer as the both
teams were out of gas and had to settle for the 3-3 draw.
Tomorrow Pool A springs into action as Spain will take on France,
while Australia meets Belgium. All four men’s team that played today are
idle tomorrow. Saturday will feature all eight men’s team in action in a
men’s-only day of action in Rotterdam.
Only four World Ranking points separate India (11th) and Ireland (15th)
and it was clear in today’s men’s Rabobank Hockey World League
Semi-Final opener that the teams were very much equal as they played to a
hard-fought 4-4 draw. The second half turned into a wild west shootout
as the teams matched each other blow for blow in the entertaining match.
A Singh opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a great
shot from the top of the D, but it was quickly answered by an even more
spectacular goal when Ala Sothern dribbled the ball to-and-fro in the
circle and put on a series of moves that led to a stunning 1-1
equalizer.
Ireland’s Paul Gelghorne scored the go-ahead goal
before the halftime hooter to give the Irish the small 2-1 advantage at
the break. India mounted its comeback in the second sparked by R.P.
Singh fired in a hard short corner shot to even the game at 2. S. Singh
followed-up with the 3-2 goal with a point blank tip in to give the
Indians the lead.
But Ireland was not finished. With 12 minutes left in regulation,
Conor Harte put in Ireland’s first short corner of the game to tie
things for the third time. Andrew McConnell put in the 4-3 goal for the
Irish with 6:30 left in regulation on a breakaway play. Unfortunately
for India, goaltender Sreejesh was badly shaken up on the play and had
to leave the field on a stretcher.
But with all the cards on the table, India came
storming back, yet again. This time with a penalty corner goal from R.P.
Singh with 4:27 left in regulation. The goal would be the last offense
that either of the two exhausted teams could muster as they both left
with a point apiece for their efforts.
