World Cup Hockey 2018 : Unforgettable match
Saturday, Dec 15 is going to be etched in the permanent memory of die-hard Hockey enthusiasts. We were amongst the fortunate ones who got to watch the 2nd semi final involving the Netherlands and Australia played before a widely neutral but very passionate and knowledgeable 15,000 fans at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium, Bhubaneswar.
While the game started off with Australia asking all the questions in the first few minutes of the exchanges, the Netherlands were made to wait. In previous games, I felt the Netherlands had just two ploys on hand - firstly, tackle and defend as if your life depended on it and secondly, spring to life with counter attacks. Somewhere, in the short journey between the Mayfair Lagoon where the team is based and the Kalinga Hockey Stadium, a third strategy was seemingly added for today's game; attack at will.
Hardly had all the countdowns and the noisy DJs settled down, the Aussies swarmed all over the Dutch citadel with many a quick pass but the trigger wasn't pulled and the pesky Dutch defence didn't even let them think of that. They attacked the Aussie forwards like a disturbed swarm of bees and quelled the riots. What was amazing was to see the positional play within the D with a roving set of reinforcements attacking the ball carrier. Schuurman decided he had enough of the Australian attacks and capitalised on a field goal attempt to start the pyrotechnics. Nine minutes saw the game swing from Aussie attacks to a goal for the Dutch. Prior to this goal, Billy led the Dutch ably from the midfield co-ordinating the field and urging his men to attack or defend. In one such tackle and counter, he moved all the way to the goal line with some assists and earned the first PC which was wasted in no time.
After the 2 minute breather, the Dutch continued from where they left off. It was a fine art of simply denying Australia to even open the book of their plans for the day. Australia were made to play catch up all along much like what India was subjected to in their quarterfinal. The Dutch dictated play with a number of exceptional individual skills on display in tackling, dodging and getting past a swarm of attackers. For its part, the crowd, which was seemingly undecided and still reeling from India's crippling loss two nights ago, found its voice whenever a solid attempt was being made on goals on either side of the pitch. And stayed that way throughout the game. Some opportunistic long balls, one of them a guided missile in disguise launched by Billy, ricocheted off the post and went out.
With about 10 minutes to go for half time, a sideline ball was scooped to the top of the Austrlian D and Van Assas deftly dodged the waiting defender, raced upto the goal line and took a pot shot across the goal only for it to take an Australian defender's stick and give the Dutch their second goal, sending the distinctly visible set of Orange supporters in the stands into raptures. The crowd then got on the side of the Dutch with shouts of "Holland Holland". Many of their players have played for the local sides in the Hockey India League (which is being choreographed for self-destruction - that's for another post on its own) and the crowd consider them to be their own.
This second quarter was dotted with 5 PCs swinging back and forth on either side of the half line. A PC in the early part of Q2 for Australia saw a resolute defence and swift counter attack by the Dutch resulting in a PC which was dragged wide. Both teams were fumbling with their PC conversions much like how they navigated the previous matches. While the stats show an overwhelming 63% possession for the team from Down Under, it was mostly the catch up variety. Australia barely started a raid when the Dutch would break it up and send it the other way only to be rebuffed with the ball flying back to the Aussies, at times in less than a minute. A few resolute attacks by Australia were rebuffed by the Dutch goalie amidst goalmouth scenes usually witnessed at Indian bus stands when the bus reaches the designated spot and is swarmed by passengers jostling for a seat.
Half time score read 2-0. If ever there was an award for the Man of the Match for the first half, it was Billy, the Dutch captain who was in the centre of the midfield, taking charge of thwarting attacks and directing his team's attack and defence.
Before the start of Q3, it did not take an expert to guess that the Australian team had to dust their looks from the rear view mirror and chart a different path for the next two quarters. It was a changed Australian team on display and they attacked from the word go trying to dictate the pace. It was punctuated by the Dutch counters including some opportunistic individual thwacks at the goal with some dancing balls at the top of the D. Australia made several attempts with no success. With about a minute to go, an Australian raid was rudely interrupted by a diving stick tackle in the D resulting in the only PC of that quarter. Attempting a variation, the Aussie attacker tried to pass the ball behind him to his mate on the left and that actually resulted in a feeble push. However, Howard snatched the ball from his mate and sent a pile driver of a slap push that reduced the deficit by one. 1-2 going into the break. Australia had to get in a goal in Q3 to stay interested in the game and they managed it just before the break.
Q4 opened up with the sight of the Dutch attackers having seemingly decided that enough was enough and that they had to keep most of the Aussies back in their half. They parked at least 2 attackers inside the opposite 25 and started to weave in a number of attacks from the left. A few time-delaying tactics by keeping the ball near the left flag resulted in Dutch eating up some time. The crowd continued supporting any credible raid or attempt from either team. Plenty of tactical advice were being provided by the spectators in Oriya and English, for both the teams and much of it would not have reached the ears of the Coaching staff on the pitch. Precious knowledge.
With about 9 minutes to go and after multiple attacks by the Dutch, an extended set of replays off an Australian referral, an Aussie PC was awarded. The push was thwarted by the Dutch goalie, Pirmin and the rebound flew wide and was flicked away by the defender, The Dutch team had decided to go after the 3rd goal to try and push back the Aussies. The next 5 minutes saw a number of first touch passes between the Aussie forwards and Pirmin coming in the way of most of these. With about 6 minutes left, the Australians pulled out their goalie, Charter to provide a kicker-back and send one more attacker upfront.
With less than 3 minutes to go, an Australian attack into the D earned them a PC. The crowd wanted this see saw match go to the wire and were by now hoping for an Australian equalizer. No one wanted the match to end. A few weak hearted ones headed to the exit thinking that the game was done and dusted. Pirmin displayed a cool head and kept the ball out of this PC with ~2.5 min on the clock. The Dutch tried to keep the ball in their possession and even tried some gamesmanship of not knowing where the ball was for sideline outs. The umpire even suspended the clock once. The Dutch were guilty of missing out some chances with no Australian goalie on the pitch. Australia kept the pressure and snatched one such ball from within their half and sent it across to the forward line with about 30 seconds left on the clock, an Aussie forward, Beale made use of the open space on the right side, passed to his teammate, Ockenden who sent it towards the far left post. On its way, it caught the stick of a Dutch defender that sent it the other way of a diving Pirmin which seemed to be the only way he could get beaten on the night.
The match now was heading to a shootout. The entire crowd was up on its feet. Their dreams were coming true, Some passerby may have thought that it was an Indian equalizer ;-) Riveting stuff, for the noise and wild cheering. The hockey mad crowd was in a delirium.
The Dutch promptly referred more out of hope than anything else. The umpire decided to review it himself to see if there was any reason to disallow the goal (now, where was this kind of thinking of the Umpire two nights ago at the same dying seconds is a question that will haunt every Indian fan - rightly or otherwise?). There was no reason to change and the goal stood.
The penalty shootout saw the yellow & green take first crack. Zalewski's reverse hit went wide. The first striker for the Dutch, Hertzberger went wide and was thwarted by Carter diving to his right only for the rebound to be scooped into the goal. 1-0 for the Dutch. Of the 2nd attempt, Beale dribbled left and right , drew Pirmin out and side stepped for a seemingly-made-to-look-easy goal. 1-1. Pruijser steps up and tries to directly side step Charter who swept the ball to the goal line.
The umpire promptly awards another attempt to the Dutch. The Oz goalie had turned his back and walked back to his mark when he was recalled, to his surprise, after a good 5 seconds or more. He promptly appeals for a review (Now, is this allowed to have such a long time gap ?). The umpire on the ground gets schooled on the penalty rules by the TV umpire when he indicates that the goalie can push the ball over the goal line in the shoot out :-) Hockey is perhaps the fastest sport where even an indication of dissent or body play is not tolerated, and coupled with so many frequent rule changes, an Umpire is almost always put in a spot. Australia win this referral and the scoreline is 1-1 after 2 tries by both sides.
Craig then steps up for Australia, draws Pirmin far and wide to the left, dodges him and slots into the empty goal to put them ahead 2-1. Kemperman makes a business-like run down the left and a diving Charter gets his stick across and deflects his reverse hit out of play. Keeps the scoreline at 2-1 after 3 tries.
Brand does a spin in front of the goalie, Pirmin, back pedals into the goalie and commits a foul. 2-1 says the scoreboard. Seve Van Ass puts Charter on notice, Charter hesitates and stays behind the penalty spot and Van Ass is quick to dribble and send a reverse into the net. 2-2 after 4 attempts. Jake Whetton makes a quick run, shimmies to the left, switches to the right of Pirmin and slots a firm push into the goal. van Dam Thijs takes the responsibility of the do or die 5th try, does a quick 360 spin and slots past Charter who is way out of the goal.
The crowd keeps cheering both sides and could not have asked for a better 'paisa-vasool' match of the tournament. Sudden death dawned with the Dutch taking strike first, as per the rules. Hertzberger's dodging run was greeted by the sight of a charging Charter well beyond the penalty spot and despite a swipe, he is unable to stop the Dutchman slotting into the goal. Beale now steps up and keeps dribbling down the straight line where Pirmin decides not to move forward, and with one swipe , pushes the ball to the sidelines leading to wild celebrations both on and off the pitch. Pirmin is the hero of the day! The organizers decide to send multiple rounds of fireworks up into the sky for good measure. The game ends with the Dutch keeping the Aussies at bay and deservedly moving to the finals.
What a game we witnessed today. Sheer brilliance of all players. Sheer individual brilliance of nearly every player (probably all 34 of them - only the reserve goalies didn't have a role on the pitch) . Netherlands owned the first half and simply did not let Australia fire despite numerous attacks. The Dutch defence inside the D was brilliant. The perpetual egging by Pirmin at the back and Billy at the heart of it all made a telling impact. The Australians were left scrambling but a PC on one side resulted in a counter with a matching PC on the other. The Dutch never seemed to send their forwards up unless the midfield / defence owned the ball. The second half was Australia trying various types of raids and attacks. The ball was kept moving at great speeds with a lot of aerial balls. PCs were brilliantly defended or pushed wide. The Dutch tried tactically to push back the Australians in the dying minutes but they were unsuccessful.
The mental strength shown by both sides was a sight to watch. A momentary release mechanism of frustration lasted for just about a second or two and they immediately rushed back to resume their roles. Perhaps, this is the result of growing up within a competitive culture right from their School and Club days that their Coaches drill into them, that is bearing fruit on the World Stage. Two nights ago, the young Indian team was bullied into submission by questionable body tactics of the Dutch (especially in their D) that was unnecessarily tolerated by the Umpires. However, when asked, the Dutch Coach Max Caldas shrugged it off and instead, directed the focus on circle penetration and pass completion statistics. Some Dutch players admitted that the game could have gone either way. Treating unfavourable umpiring decisions on the pitch as part of the environment and focussing on the job on hand was on display. Something many teams should take note of.
We got to see team members and staff from many of the eliminated teams such as Spain, South Africa and Ireland staying back to watch these games. Not a bad choice of a match! I reckon this match is for repeated viewing and a training manual (may be not for the PCs) for one and all.
Phew, there is actually a final tomorrow!
P.S: I did refer to the FIH & Hotstar sites for match stats and scorer names. I'm not good at remembering names :-) ...and thanks to Sheila for egging me on to write this piece and editing it :-) This was an unforgettable match for us.
While the game started off with Australia asking all the questions in the first few minutes of the exchanges, the Netherlands were made to wait. In previous games, I felt the Netherlands had just two ploys on hand - firstly, tackle and defend as if your life depended on it and secondly, spring to life with counter attacks. Somewhere, in the short journey between the Mayfair Lagoon where the team is based and the Kalinga Hockey Stadium, a third strategy was seemingly added for today's game; attack at will.
Hardly had all the countdowns and the noisy DJs settled down, the Aussies swarmed all over the Dutch citadel with many a quick pass but the trigger wasn't pulled and the pesky Dutch defence didn't even let them think of that. They attacked the Aussie forwards like a disturbed swarm of bees and quelled the riots. What was amazing was to see the positional play within the D with a roving set of reinforcements attacking the ball carrier. Schuurman decided he had enough of the Australian attacks and capitalised on a field goal attempt to start the pyrotechnics. Nine minutes saw the game swing from Aussie attacks to a goal for the Dutch. Prior to this goal, Billy led the Dutch ably from the midfield co-ordinating the field and urging his men to attack or defend. In one such tackle and counter, he moved all the way to the goal line with some assists and earned the first PC which was wasted in no time.
After the 2 minute breather, the Dutch continued from where they left off. It was a fine art of simply denying Australia to even open the book of their plans for the day. Australia were made to play catch up all along much like what India was subjected to in their quarterfinal. The Dutch dictated play with a number of exceptional individual skills on display in tackling, dodging and getting past a swarm of attackers. For its part, the crowd, which was seemingly undecided and still reeling from India's crippling loss two nights ago, found its voice whenever a solid attempt was being made on goals on either side of the pitch. And stayed that way throughout the game. Some opportunistic long balls, one of them a guided missile in disguise launched by Billy, ricocheted off the post and went out.
With about 10 minutes to go for half time, a sideline ball was scooped to the top of the Austrlian D and Van Assas deftly dodged the waiting defender, raced upto the goal line and took a pot shot across the goal only for it to take an Australian defender's stick and give the Dutch their second goal, sending the distinctly visible set of Orange supporters in the stands into raptures. The crowd then got on the side of the Dutch with shouts of "Holland Holland". Many of their players have played for the local sides in the Hockey India League (which is being choreographed for self-destruction - that's for another post on its own) and the crowd consider them to be their own.
This second quarter was dotted with 5 PCs swinging back and forth on either side of the half line. A PC in the early part of Q2 for Australia saw a resolute defence and swift counter attack by the Dutch resulting in a PC which was dragged wide. Both teams were fumbling with their PC conversions much like how they navigated the previous matches. While the stats show an overwhelming 63% possession for the team from Down Under, it was mostly the catch up variety. Australia barely started a raid when the Dutch would break it up and send it the other way only to be rebuffed with the ball flying back to the Aussies, at times in less than a minute. A few resolute attacks by Australia were rebuffed by the Dutch goalie amidst goalmouth scenes usually witnessed at Indian bus stands when the bus reaches the designated spot and is swarmed by passengers jostling for a seat.
Half time score read 2-0. If ever there was an award for the Man of the Match for the first half, it was Billy, the Dutch captain who was in the centre of the midfield, taking charge of thwarting attacks and directing his team's attack and defence.
Before the start of Q3, it did not take an expert to guess that the Australian team had to dust their looks from the rear view mirror and chart a different path for the next two quarters. It was a changed Australian team on display and they attacked from the word go trying to dictate the pace. It was punctuated by the Dutch counters including some opportunistic individual thwacks at the goal with some dancing balls at the top of the D. Australia made several attempts with no success. With about a minute to go, an Australian raid was rudely interrupted by a diving stick tackle in the D resulting in the only PC of that quarter. Attempting a variation, the Aussie attacker tried to pass the ball behind him to his mate on the left and that actually resulted in a feeble push. However, Howard snatched the ball from his mate and sent a pile driver of a slap push that reduced the deficit by one. 1-2 going into the break. Australia had to get in a goal in Q3 to stay interested in the game and they managed it just before the break.
Q4 opened up with the sight of the Dutch attackers having seemingly decided that enough was enough and that they had to keep most of the Aussies back in their half. They parked at least 2 attackers inside the opposite 25 and started to weave in a number of attacks from the left. A few time-delaying tactics by keeping the ball near the left flag resulted in Dutch eating up some time. The crowd continued supporting any credible raid or attempt from either team. Plenty of tactical advice were being provided by the spectators in Oriya and English, for both the teams and much of it would not have reached the ears of the Coaching staff on the pitch. Precious knowledge.
With about 9 minutes to go and after multiple attacks by the Dutch, an extended set of replays off an Australian referral, an Aussie PC was awarded. The push was thwarted by the Dutch goalie, Pirmin and the rebound flew wide and was flicked away by the defender, The Dutch team had decided to go after the 3rd goal to try and push back the Aussies. The next 5 minutes saw a number of first touch passes between the Aussie forwards and Pirmin coming in the way of most of these. With about 6 minutes left, the Australians pulled out their goalie, Charter to provide a kicker-back and send one more attacker upfront.
With less than 3 minutes to go, an Australian attack into the D earned them a PC. The crowd wanted this see saw match go to the wire and were by now hoping for an Australian equalizer. No one wanted the match to end. A few weak hearted ones headed to the exit thinking that the game was done and dusted. Pirmin displayed a cool head and kept the ball out of this PC with ~2.5 min on the clock. The Dutch tried to keep the ball in their possession and even tried some gamesmanship of not knowing where the ball was for sideline outs. The umpire even suspended the clock once. The Dutch were guilty of missing out some chances with no Australian goalie on the pitch. Australia kept the pressure and snatched one such ball from within their half and sent it across to the forward line with about 30 seconds left on the clock, an Aussie forward, Beale made use of the open space on the right side, passed to his teammate, Ockenden who sent it towards the far left post. On its way, it caught the stick of a Dutch defender that sent it the other way of a diving Pirmin which seemed to be the only way he could get beaten on the night.
The match now was heading to a shootout. The entire crowd was up on its feet. Their dreams were coming true, Some passerby may have thought that it was an Indian equalizer ;-) Riveting stuff, for the noise and wild cheering. The hockey mad crowd was in a delirium.
The Dutch promptly referred more out of hope than anything else. The umpire decided to review it himself to see if there was any reason to disallow the goal (now, where was this kind of thinking of the Umpire two nights ago at the same dying seconds is a question that will haunt every Indian fan - rightly or otherwise?). There was no reason to change and the goal stood.
The penalty shootout saw the yellow & green take first crack. Zalewski's reverse hit went wide. The first striker for the Dutch, Hertzberger went wide and was thwarted by Carter diving to his right only for the rebound to be scooped into the goal. 1-0 for the Dutch. Of the 2nd attempt, Beale dribbled left and right , drew Pirmin out and side stepped for a seemingly-made-to-look-easy goal. 1-1. Pruijser steps up and tries to directly side step Charter who swept the ball to the goal line.
The umpire promptly awards another attempt to the Dutch. The Oz goalie had turned his back and walked back to his mark when he was recalled, to his surprise, after a good 5 seconds or more. He promptly appeals for a review (Now, is this allowed to have such a long time gap ?). The umpire on the ground gets schooled on the penalty rules by the TV umpire when he indicates that the goalie can push the ball over the goal line in the shoot out :-) Hockey is perhaps the fastest sport where even an indication of dissent or body play is not tolerated, and coupled with so many frequent rule changes, an Umpire is almost always put in a spot. Australia win this referral and the scoreline is 1-1 after 2 tries by both sides.
Craig then steps up for Australia, draws Pirmin far and wide to the left, dodges him and slots into the empty goal to put them ahead 2-1. Kemperman makes a business-like run down the left and a diving Charter gets his stick across and deflects his reverse hit out of play. Keeps the scoreline at 2-1 after 3 tries.
Brand does a spin in front of the goalie, Pirmin, back pedals into the goalie and commits a foul. 2-1 says the scoreboard. Seve Van Ass puts Charter on notice, Charter hesitates and stays behind the penalty spot and Van Ass is quick to dribble and send a reverse into the net. 2-2 after 4 attempts. Jake Whetton makes a quick run, shimmies to the left, switches to the right of Pirmin and slots a firm push into the goal. van Dam Thijs takes the responsibility of the do or die 5th try, does a quick 360 spin and slots past Charter who is way out of the goal.
The crowd keeps cheering both sides and could not have asked for a better 'paisa-vasool' match of the tournament. Sudden death dawned with the Dutch taking strike first, as per the rules. Hertzberger's dodging run was greeted by the sight of a charging Charter well beyond the penalty spot and despite a swipe, he is unable to stop the Dutchman slotting into the goal. Beale now steps up and keeps dribbling down the straight line where Pirmin decides not to move forward, and with one swipe , pushes the ball to the sidelines leading to wild celebrations both on and off the pitch. Pirmin is the hero of the day! The organizers decide to send multiple rounds of fireworks up into the sky for good measure. The game ends with the Dutch keeping the Aussies at bay and deservedly moving to the finals.
What a game we witnessed today. Sheer brilliance of all players. Sheer individual brilliance of nearly every player (probably all 34 of them - only the reserve goalies didn't have a role on the pitch) . Netherlands owned the first half and simply did not let Australia fire despite numerous attacks. The Dutch defence inside the D was brilliant. The perpetual egging by Pirmin at the back and Billy at the heart of it all made a telling impact. The Australians were left scrambling but a PC on one side resulted in a counter with a matching PC on the other. The Dutch never seemed to send their forwards up unless the midfield / defence owned the ball. The second half was Australia trying various types of raids and attacks. The ball was kept moving at great speeds with a lot of aerial balls. PCs were brilliantly defended or pushed wide. The Dutch tried tactically to push back the Australians in the dying minutes but they were unsuccessful.
The mental strength shown by both sides was a sight to watch. A momentary release mechanism of frustration lasted for just about a second or two and they immediately rushed back to resume their roles. Perhaps, this is the result of growing up within a competitive culture right from their School and Club days that their Coaches drill into them, that is bearing fruit on the World Stage. Two nights ago, the young Indian team was bullied into submission by questionable body tactics of the Dutch (especially in their D) that was unnecessarily tolerated by the Umpires. However, when asked, the Dutch Coach Max Caldas shrugged it off and instead, directed the focus on circle penetration and pass completion statistics. Some Dutch players admitted that the game could have gone either way. Treating unfavourable umpiring decisions on the pitch as part of the environment and focussing on the job on hand was on display. Something many teams should take note of.
We got to see team members and staff from many of the eliminated teams such as Spain, South Africa and Ireland staying back to watch these games. Not a bad choice of a match! I reckon this match is for repeated viewing and a training manual (may be not for the PCs) for one and all.
Phew, there is actually a final tomorrow!
P.S: I did refer to the FIH & Hotstar sites for match stats and scorer names. I'm not good at remembering names :-) ...and thanks to Sheila for egging me on to write this piece and editing it :-) This was an unforgettable match for us.
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