FIH Pro League action saw hosts Argentina with a rest day in Santigao del Estero but it was a busy night as Germany swept Belgium in both clashes. The men tallied twice for a 2-0 win over the Red Lions, while in the women’s game a first quarter goal was all that split the teams 41 minutes of play. Two late goals gave Die Danas the 3-0 win and their first three points in 2024 play.
Earlier in the day at the mini-tournament in Bhubaneswar, a riveting, see-saw encounter between India and Australia’s men ended in a 6-4 victory for the Kookaburras while Spain claimed their first win of this season’s FIH Hockey Pro League with a 4-2 victory over Ireland.
In the women’s mini-tournament in Rourkela, the Netherlands continued their storming form, notching up an 11th victory of the season by defeating China 4-2 while Australia comfortably got the better of the United States 4-0.
(Women’s) Australia 4 - 0 USA
Ambrosia Malone celebrated her 100th cap as Australia overcame a short turnaround between matches to beat the USA 4-0. The Hockeyroos were industrious in the first half with Alice Arnott opening the scoring with a field goal in the 7th minute, and Maddison Brooks winning a goalmouth scramble from a penalty corner for their second. Rebecca Greiner made it 3-0 on the stroke of half-time and it looked as though Australia might run away with the result.
The second half was an understandably slower affair as the heat took its toll on the players. The USA showed tremendous resilience to keep fighting but couldn’t create enough opportunities to beat the organised Australian defence, and Claire Colwill ultimately added a drag flick to the Australians' tally in the 44th minute to wrap up the victory.
Australia’s Rebecca Greiner received the player of the match awardand said: “Very hot conditions. We also had a pretty quick turnaround from our game yesterday, so I think coming into today we just wanted to control the game, really value possession, and I think we did that really well.”
(Women’s) Netherlands 4 - 2 China
The Netherlands continued to dominate the tournament with a 4-2 win over a defiant Chinese team. The Dutch looked to control possession and build patiently while the Chinese set their defensive structure and looked for quick counterattacks. Joosje Burg pounced on a rebound for the Netherlands' first goal in the eighth minute and Fay van der Elst got among the Chinese defenders for a brilliant deflection in the 12th minute to extend the lead. Josine Koning had kept China goalless with two good low stick saves from penalty corners, but Anhui Yu found the net from open play as the first quarter ended. Jiao Ye made some excellent saves in the Chinese goal through the second quarter to keep the Dutch lead to just one goal by half-time.
China started the third quarter well, but the Dutch soon stepped up to take control of the match. Yibbi Jansen fired in a flawless drag flick in the 34th minute, and Felice Albers added a deflection from a perfectly executed penalty corner variation five minutes later for a three-goal cushion. Bingfeng Gu pulled one back for China with a 59th-minute drag flick as the Netherlands remain unbeaten in the competition.
The player of the match went to Renee van Laarhoven of the Netherlands who said: “I think it was also a tough game always against China, they defend very well so I think it was for us necessary to keep the patience, keep the ball going and search for the right moment to attack. We feel like a unit.”
(Men’s) Spain 4 – 2 Ireland
Spain picked up their first win of the tournament in a tough 4-2 victory over Ireland. The Red Sticks created plenty of opportunities through the opening quarter, testing the brilliant Jamie Carr in the Irish goal repeatedly. It took an exceptional strike from Enrique Gonzalez to give Spain the lead in the 13th minute from open play. Marc Miralles then extended their lead with a trademark drag flick, but Matthew Nelson pulled one back for Ireland with a good team goal in the 24th minute and they trailed 2-1 at half-time.
Ireland grew in confidence through the second half and had long periods of good possession, but they struggled to find a goal and Spain always looked dangerous going forward. Mirales completely unravelled the Irish defence to set up Marc Reyne for a tap-in after 41 minutes, but Lee Cole bagged a penalty stroke for Ireland in the 52nd minute to set up a close finish. The Irish had a full go but got exposed on the break and Gonzales batted in for Spain in the 57th minute to secure the win.
Enrique Gonzalez was awarded the player of the match for Spain and said: “Finally a win. We had a lot of chances in the last games against Australia, Holland and India, and finally today we had a lot of chances to score goals. It’s really happy for us to get the first win in the Pro League of this season.”
(Men’s) India 4 - 6 Australia
Australia fought back from two goals down to triumph over hosts India. The first quarter was played at a furious pace, both teams suffering from high error rates as a result. Blake Glover struck early for Australia, a blistering drag flick and a rocketed field goal giving the Kookaburras a 2-0 lead in the second minute. Harmanpreet Singh then pulled one back for India with a scorching drag flick in the 12th minute. The Indians were sensational in the second quarter, drawing level in the 18th minute when Sukhjeet Singh pounced on a loose ball near the p-spot. They went ahead when Harmanpreet Singh’s drag flick took a cruel deflection off the first wave in the 20th minute, and Mandeep Singh bulleted one in from the top of the circle in the 29th minute for a 4-2 Indian lead at half-time.
The second half belonged to Australia and they could easily have had more than their one goal in the third quarter, when Aran Zalewski deflected in from a penalty corner variation in the 40th minute. The momentum remained with the Kookaburras, Lachlan Sharp running hard to finish a tap-in for the equaliser in the 52nd minute. Jacob Anderson then put them ahead from a goalmouth scramble three minutes later. India pulled their keeper off to chase a goal, but that gave Jack Welch the chance to slam into an empty Indian net in the 58th minute to break Indian hearts.
The player of the match went to Australia’s Aran Zalewski who said: “It’s games like that where you kind of sit back and think about why you love the game. So much momentum for us, for them, and then back to us and to be honest I’m quite happy it finished on our side.”
(Men’s) Belgium 0 - 2 Germany
The European clash in Santiago del Estero went 2-0 in favour of the more experienced Germany but the Belgian Red Lions didn’t make it easy. Belgium thought they would be first on the board as a baseline attack from Roman Duvekot had beat a sprawling keeper Alexander Stadler, in goal for Germany, but running out of space, Duvekot couldn’t find a way past the post. Two goals in the second quarter relieved some pressure for Germany,, first a finish from Malte Hellwig after a fabulous baseline run from Moritz Ludwig. The second came after Hellwig threaded a distance pass to Elian Mazkour, whose flip over the shoulder of Simon Vandenbroucke secured the 2-0 lead.
While Germany were tidy in their back field, the young Belgian side were relentless and kept Stadler very busy but he was more than up to the task. At the other end, Simon Vandenbroucke was called to answer a Gonzalo Peillat flick that was dropping under the bar in the fourth quarter to keep Germany at bay. In the final minute of the game a gritty run from Belgium’s Tobias Biekens drew a penalty corner. A slip to the side for captain Maxime van Oost was deflected on target but steered away by Stadler to secure the 2-0 shutout.
Player of the match honors went to Germany’s Malte Hellwig who said after the game: “I think we sped up in the second half and the second quarter was better than the first one. Our passing speed was not high enough so we are happy we could improve it in the second half and that was a big step in helping us win.”
(Women’s) Belgium 0 - 3 Germany
Die Danas had a crisp start to their Argentina-hosted leg of the Pro League putting three past the Red Panthers. Elena Sotgiu and her Belgian defence were kept busy managing a quick and fierce opponent. The opening goal closed out the first quarter on a penalty corner. A low flick from Sonja Zimmerman bounced between Tiphane Duquesne and Sotgiu to give Germany a cushion.
The third quarter saw a renewed Belgian attack and a near equaliser as Louise Dewaet battled through the circle to open a chance for Pauline LeClef but the back-hand shot flew past the far post. Then a rush sparked by Astrid Bonami forced back-to-back-to-back saves out of German keeper Nathalie Kubalski. It was a valiant effort and energy from Belgium but two late German goals were too much to overcome - the first an individual effort from Jette Fleschütz and the second some great footwork for a turn-and-smash by Lilly Stoffelsma. The win gives Germany three points in their first Pro League game.
Germany’s Lena Micheel was named Player of the Match and commented “I think we really improved our game in the second half. We still have some work to do but to finish here with three goals is quite okay so we can keep giong.”
Top Scorer Armband
To celebrate the talented goal-scorers throughout the season the FIH has introduced the Top Scorer Armband, which is being worn by the leading goal-scorers in the men's and women's competitions in the current season, as a visual mark for the fans, and for the players to wear proudly, match after match.
Current Top Scorers:
Women - Yibbi Jansen (NED) (12 goals)
Men – Jip Janssen (NED) (6 goals)
To see the current standings in the FIH Hockey Pro League, click here.
FIH Pro League – 15 February 2024
Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium, Rourkela (IND)
Result: Match 23 (W)
Australia 4 - 0 United States
Player of the match: Rebecca Greiner (AUS)
Umpires: Martin Madden (SCO), Junko Wagatsuma (JPN), Kristy Robertson (AUS-reserve), David Tomlinson (NZL-video)
Result: Match 24 (W)
Netherlands 4 - 2 China
Player of the match: Renee van Laarhoven (NED)
Umpires: Aleisha Neumann (AUS), Kristy Robertson (AUS), David Tomlinson (NZL-reserve), Martin Madden (SCO-video)
Kalinga Hockey Stadium, Bhubaneswar (IND)
Result: Match 14 (M)
Spain 4 - 2 Ireland
Player of the match: Enrique Gonzalez (ESP)
Umpires: Rawi Anbananthan (MAS), James Unkles (AUS), Xiaoying Liu (CHN-reserve), Zeke Newman (AUS-video)
Result: Match 15 (M)
India 4 - 6 Australia
Player of the match: Aran Zalewski (AUS)
Umpires: Raghu Prasad (IND), Zeke Newman (AUS), Rawi Anbananthan (MAS-reserve), Liu Xiaoying (CHN-video)
Santiago del Estero, Argentina (ARG)
Result: Match 16 (M)
Belgium 0 - 2 Germany
Player of the match: Malte Hellwig (GER)
Umpires: Benjamin Peters (USA), Sean Rapaport (RSA), Victoria Pazos (PAR-reserve), Tyler Klenk (CAN-video)
Result: Match 22 (W)
Belgium 0 - 3 Germany
Player of the match: Lena Micheel (GER)
Umpires: Irene Presenqui (ARG), Maggie Giddens (USA), Tyler Klenk (CAN-reserve), Victoria Pazos (PAR-video)
