The primary Amsterdam stage of the brand new FIH Hockey Professional League season got here to an finish on a triumphant word for the Belgian males.
The Crimson Lions produced a dominant second-half efficiency to beat Olympic silver medallists Germany 6-3 to complete the stage on prime of the desk with eight factors. Motion now strikes to Argentina, the place matches proceed from Tuesday.
(Males’s) Germany 3 – 6 Belgium
Belgium snuffed the life out of Germany with a purple patch within the fourth quarter, claiming a dominant 6-3 win.
The groups needed to wrestle for area in a cagey first quarter. Belgium began the higher group, opening the scoring within the fifth minute from a fast free hit, the deflection off a German stick 30 yards out travelling straight to William Ghislain in entrance of purpose who slotted within the opener. There have been a few circle entries at each ends earlier than Tom Boon stretched Belgium’s lead with a well-struck discipline purpose within the fifteenth minute.
Germany stepped up within the second quarter and pulled one again within the 18th minute when Thies Prinz fed a magical move to Raphael Hartkopf who chipped the ball excessive into the online from shut vary. Germany’s Joshua Onyekwue Nnaji was the busier of the 2 goalkeepers in the course of the interval, combining good positional work with some wonderful reflex saves. The Germans equalised within the twenty sixth minute, passing patiently to arrange Prinz for a tap-in on the left publish. Play ebbed and flowed with out additional targets and it was locked at 2-2 by half-time.
A good third interval was performed principally within the center third of the pitch, however there was a flurry of late exercise. Boon fired Belgium forward with a Forty second-minute penalty stroke, and Germany responded instantly with Elian Mazkour scoring a scrappy discipline purpose.
The match was poised for an thrilling end and the Belgians delivered three fast targets to squeeze the life out of Germany. Guillaume Hellin accomplished a well-timed deflection for a Forty ninth-minute discipline purpose. Thibeau Stockbroekx then put the completion to Boon’s feed a minute later, and Boon accomplished his second hat-trick of the event to this point with a chic working flick off his proper foot within the 51st.
Belgium threatened repeatedly within the closing minutes and solely an distinctive triple save from Onyekwue Nnaji denied them the purpose of the event from 4 pinball touches.
Belgium’s Tom Boon was awarded the Participant of the Match and stated: “I feel it was a reasonably good sport. I feel the primary half we struggled slightly bit. Germany was actually good on the ball, however we nonetheless managed to create some probabilities. I feel we simply switched it round within the second half, we have been extra dynamic, extra aggressive within the press, created lots of probabilities and scored some targets, so actually pleased with the efficiency at this time.”
Present Hero Prime Scorers:
Ladies – Vanessa Blockmans (BEL), Charlotte Englebert (BEL) (3 targets)
Males – Tom Boon (BEL) (8 targets)
To see the present standings within the FIH Hockey Professional League, click on right here.
FIH Hockey Professional League – 9 December 2024
Wagener Stadion, Amsterdam (NED)
MEN
End result: Match 6 (M)
Germany 3 – 6 Belgium
Participant of the match: Tom Boon (BEL)
Umpires: Alison Keogh (IRL), Dan Barstow (ENG), Ivona Makar (CRO-video)
