Orange childishly easy to the quarterfinals World Cup Hockey
The Orange men have easily qualified for the quarter finals of the Hockey World Cup. The match against New Zealand was won, making placement a fact.
On paper, New Zealand was seen as the most difficult opponent in the group stage of this World Cup hockey. The player also plays in the FIH Pro League as the only opponent in group C. A win would secure a place for the quarterfinals.
Despite a few minutes in which the Dutch did not play with full pressure, it soon turned out that there would be only one team that would take the points today. New Zealand managed to force something in the first minutes, but the Orange had little trouble stopping the opponent.
A stupid mistake by Kane Russell led to Thierry Brinkman’s opening goal. The New Zealand defender wanted to play a ball across the width of the field, but the ball hit Tjep Hoedemakers’ stick. The attacker, in turn, was able to play out a 2:1 situation with Brinkman well. It was Brinkman’s first goal of this tournament.
New Zealand changes goalkeeper
What happens very little in international top hockey is that a country holder already changes in the first quarter. Greg Nicol, the New Zealand coach, decided to change his closing post after just twelve minutes to quickly force a goal against. A stupid choice. The first attack of the Orange was immediately transformed into a goal. Brinkman was able to push the ball into an empty goal.
Strangely enough, the New Zealand national coach had not learned and left his closing post aside. The Orange receives a new penalty corner, but does not score. Jip Janssen got his chance, but dragged into the block.
Bees scores
Keeper Dixon came back in the second quarter. Yet there is little to the game image. The Netherlands remained the better of the two. Koen Bijen scored his first goal of this Hockey World Cup in the second minute. He was able to tip the ball in from the head of the circle in a nice way.
Little more in the third quarter. A goal in the last minute of this quarter was disallowed. Derck de Vilder scored his first goal this Hockey World Cup. Unfortunately, Brinkman had put his foot against the ball earlier in the attack.
Slot van Hoedemakers
Also in the fourth quarter it was the Orange who determined the game. New Zealand was totally incapable of retaliating. In the 54th minute, a beautiful attack by the Dutch team was rewarded with a goal. Thijs van Dam kept the overview from the repetition of the circle and played in the upcoming Tjep Hoedemakers. From the spot, the attacker could tip the ball high into the ropes. It was the last goal of the match. The Orange won and thus qualified for the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Cup hockey.
Photo: WorldSportPics