Belgium\u2019s men came from behind against the Netherlands to extend their season-long unbeaten streak with a 2-2 draw before taking the extra point in the shootout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over in London, England\u2019s men worked hard for their narrow win over already-relegated Pakistan to preserve their outside chance of catching the Belgians at the top of the table. The English women, however, remain in the relegation battle after a 1-0 loss to Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the Dutch women celebrated sealing a sixth Pro League title and Olympic qualification in style by completing a commanding 6-0 victory over Australia in Belgium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And in Berlin, Germany struck late to edge Argentina 2-1, while earlier in the evening, China also left it late to snatch a 2-1 victory over Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Men\u2019s) Belgium 2 \u2013 2 Netherlands (SO: 4 \u2013 3)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Belgium trailed for most of the match and had to dig extremely deep to salvage a late 2-2 draw against the Netherlands. They then performed well to claim an extra point by winning the shootout 4-3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Belgians nearly conceded in the second minute of an action-packed first quarter, but they immediately got up the other end to earn a penalty corner on review. Alex Hendrickx fired them ahead with another absolute rocket of a drag flick. There were a couple of half-chances at both ends, the best falling to Belgium\u2019s Thomas Crols, who received a sensational transition pass from Arno Van Dessel only to blast his shot high and wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Dutch equalised in the 15th<\/sup> minute, and then snatched the lead in the 16th<\/sup>, Pepijn van der Heijden sliding drag flicks hard and low to beat the keeper down his right side on both occasions. The Netherlands held their 2-1 lead to half-time, pressing aggressively and often committing a player to engage the sweeper, which made it almost impossible for Belgium to exit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Dutch continued to look comfortable and create chances throughout the third period, although they did need to see off two penalty corners mid-quarter. Belgium\u2019s diving deflection runner arrived just too late to level the scores early in the fourth quarter, and they lived dangerously with Vincent Vanasch doing sterling work in goal to keep them in contention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was late drama when Belgium won a penalty corner from a video referral with seven minutes remaining. Koen Bijen argued his way to first a green card, and then a yellow, and Tom Boon promptly fired the drag flick home to level the scores and put the home side in the driving seat. However, there were no further goals, and the match went to a shootout where Belgium prevailed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Belgium\u2019s Arthur De Sloover was named the Player of the Match and said: \u201cIt was a tough game for us. We started pretty well but then Holland came better in the game. I must say we struggled, but we kept fighting, we kept believing, even after the one-two, and I think in the end it\u2019s two really good teams playing each other, two different styles, and I think in the end a draw is a good result.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Men\u2019s) Germany 2 \u2013 1 Argentina<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Germany left it late but made their opportunities count to secure a 2-1 win over Argentina in front of their home crowd in Berlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Argentina sat back deep on defence to counter Germany\u2019s overhead threat in an action-packed opening quarter, and it seemed to work for them. They had plenty of opportunities to attack the German circle and came very close to scoring with just seconds left on the clock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Germany\u2019s aerial attacks paid off in the second quarter when Niklas Bosserhoff received a lovely high ball on the edge of the circle and worked it in to Justus Weigand, who controlled it beautifully to turn and flick it into the roof of the net for the 1-0 lead in the 26th<\/sup> minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Argentina hit back with just two seconds remaining in the third quarter. A swift counterattack ended with a diving reverse pass picking out Martin Ferreiro on the edge of the circle, and he opened the face of his stick to sweep the ball into the top corner for the equaliser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Germany found the winner with less than two minutes remaining after earning their first penalty corner of the match. Jakob Briller’s initial effort was saved, but Weigand reacted quickest to bury the rebound and seal a 2-1 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Justus Weigand was named Player of the Match for Germany and said: \u201cThe first half was very tough, especially offensively from us but we did very good in the second half\u2026 I think that\u2019s part of the job as a striker to be patient and waiting for the perfect moment and I think we did very well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Men\u2019s) England 2 \u2013 1 Pakistan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n England had to dig deep to come from a goal down to get the better of Pakistan 2-1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chances came at both ends during an evenly contested opening quarter, but neither side could make them count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After few quality chances for either side in the second period, Pakistan struck on the counterattack four minutes before half-time. The move ended with the ball being flashed across the face of goal, where Waheed Ashraf Rana was on hand to swat it down into the back of the net. The goal gave Pakistan a 1-0 lead at the break after England failed to capitalise on a flurry of penalty-corner re-awards with no time left on the clock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The English took more control of the contest in the third quarter, but Pakistan’s defence \u2013 just as it had against India the day before \u2013 continued to show remarkable resilience. They frustrated the hosts until the 40th<\/sup> minute, when Phil Roper scrambled home the equaliser at an awkward height for goalkeeper Ali Raza. England nearly completed the turnaround before the break, but a phenomenal stick save on the line from Pakistan’s post-man off yet another penalty corner kept the scores level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raza was finally beaten early in the fourth quarter by the sheer pace of Sam Hooper’s penalty-corner strike, as England took the lead for the first time. The hosts finished with an incredible 17 penalty corners, but Pakistan’s defence conceded from just one of them. In the end, however, England had done enough to secure a hard-fought 2-1 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n England\u2019s Phil Roper was named the Player of the Match and said: \u201cWe\u2019re pretty thrilled with the result\u2026 It\u2019s amazing to be honest with you. When you have 22-24 players playing really nice hockey, super-confident, right at the top of that table, pushing Belgium every game \u2013 it\u2019s a great place to be and the culture is great to be around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Women\u2019s) England 0 \u2013 1 Spain<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n England\u2019s relegation concerns were compounded by a 1-0 loss to Spain, who were thrilled to go back-to-back after a memorable victory over Argentina a day earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The English enjoyed the upper hand in the opening stages, but Spain gradually settled into the contest and began creating chances of their own. Despite opportunities at both ends, neither side could find the breakthrough in the first quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spain controlled more of the possession in the second quarter and won a third penalty corner but again failed to make it count. Their persistence was finally rewarded three minutes before half-time when a lovely run from Marta Segu into the circle ended with a perfectly timed cut-back for Flor Amundson, who made no mistake with a first-time tap-in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spain adopted a more conservative approach in the third quarter, seemingly happy to soak up England’s pressure while protecting their slender one-goal advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n England threw everything forward in search of an equaliser in the final quarter, but the Spanish defence stood firm. The hosts withdrew their goalkeeper with just over six minutes remaining in a bid to force the issue, a gamble that almost backfired when Teresa Lima broke clear but fired wide with the goal at her mercy. England were awarded a penalty stroke with three-and-a-half minutes left, but a video review downgraded it to a penalty corner. Despite multiple re-awards, they were unable to find a way through as Spain held on for a hard-fought 1-0 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Flor Amundson was once again named as Player of the Match for Spain and said: \u201cIt\u2019s amazing. It\u2019s an individual trophy, but I think I have to give it to my whole team. We were fighting really hard until the end. We have a really hard schedule with eight games in 11 days without resting and recovering and I think this team is performing amazing and I\u2019m really happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Women\u2019s) China 2 \u2013 1 Ireland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n China found themselves on the back foot in the opening stages before coming back to steal a 2-1 win over Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Irish had a cracking start when captain Sarah Hawkshaw blasted a reverse strike home within 27 seconds of the start. China turned over possession far too cheaply in the opening five minutes, and goalkeeper Liu Ping had to make a great glove save to deny Sarah Torrans a second for the Green Machine. The Chinese then settled down to dominate territory and possession as the first half progressed, and Yang Liu levelled the scores in the 25th<\/sup> minute when her slap shot rocketed into the roof of the net off the first wave\u2019s stick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n China bossed the third quarter, but they failed to convert from four penalty corners. Ireland also failed from two rare penalty corners of their own, and the final quarter started with the scores still locked on 1-1. The Irish enjoyed a two-player numerical advantage when China had two players serving green card suspensions simultaneously, but they couldn\u2019t capitalise. Jiaqi Zhong scored the winner for China in the 58th<\/sup> minute with a high-quality goal. She received a direct ball into the circle, lofted it over the first defender\u2019s stick, and popped it deftly over the goalkeeper to break Irish hearts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ma Ning was named Player of the Match for China and said: \u201cWe had a slow beginning and we were not prepared for Team Ireland’s high ball. Our defenders were not communicating well. After the first half we discussed and changed our minds, and we talked to each other, communicated to each other, and we changed the second half .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Women\u2019s) Australia 0 \u2013 6 Netherlands<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Netherlands were in complete control as they ran out 6-0 winners over Australia in sweltering conditions that required hydration breaks in the middle of each quarter. The stats favoured the Dutch heavily with 31 circle penetrations to 6, and 12 penalty corners to 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Debutant Guusje Moes wasted no time in scoring her first goal for the Dutch, coming off the bench and sliding in for a 5th<\/sup>-minute deflection just seconds later. Pien Dicke added a penalty corner rebound in the 13th<\/sup> minute, and Fr\u00e9d\u00e9rique Matla nailed a penalty stroke in the 17th<\/sup>. Yibbi Jansen made it 4-0 with a rapid drag flick on the stroke of half-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dicke completed her brace in the 33rd<\/sup> minute, intercepting a through pass deep in the Hockeyroos\u2019 circle and dinking it in. Zoe Newman\u2019s heroics in the Australian goal certainly prevented more goals in the third quarter, and her team had Dutch goalkeeper Anna Veenendaal under pressure towards the end of the period. The Dutch continued to surge forward, and Lisa Post bagged her first international goal in her 83rd<\/sup> appearance, smashing in from a messy recycled penalty corner in the 54th<\/sup> minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Player of the Match was awarded to Pien Dicke of the Netherlands, who said: \u201cI think it was a bit crazy last night when we found out that we won the Pro League without playing, but I think we\u2019re really happy as a team and extremely happy that we qualified for LA 2028.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Belgium\u2019s men came from behind against the Netherlands to extend their season-long unbeaten streak with a 2-2 draw<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[60],"class_list":["post-14190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-hockey"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t