Netherlands win Hero Hockey World League Final for the first time!

-DR. ABDUL RUFF COLACHAL 

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As speculated at the semi-final level,  there was a complete turn around in the Hero Hockey World League Final when former champions and Olympic gold medalists lost their way in their own ways. Former Olympians Pakistan, India and German were nowhere in the game. Maybe luck did not help them.

By way of creating history, the Netherlands have won the first ever Hockey World League after cruising to a 7-2 victory over New Zealand in the final of the Hero Hockey World League Final.

This was a very good result, we knew we were able to play hard, and we needed to stick to our game plan, which is speeding up and skilful hockey. However the final score of 7-2 is simply unbelievable. After cagey first 10 minutes the Netherlands broke the deadlock when Constantijn Jonkers scored the first of his three goals from an almost impossible angle past Devon Manchester in the Black Sticks goal. 

Determined to win the title, the Netherlands turned up the pressure in the last 15 minutes of the first half, winning two penalty corners and keeping the Black Sticks pinned in their half of the pitch. A second goal was added by Billy Bakker as the men in black struggled to cope with the ferocity of the Dutch attack. The Netherlands third goal came on the stroke of half time when a ball fired in from the midfield found Jonkers who deflected the ball for a safe goal.

The second half got off to a scintillating start as first the Netherlands through Bob de Voogd put the Netherlands 4-0 up and then Steve Edwards  of the Black Sticks made  the first goal,  the score 4-1.

The game continued to be very open, with both teams seeking long passes to penetrate the defense, but again it was the Netherlands who made pressure tell, Rogier Hofman scoring Oranje hockey's fifth goal and putting the game all but out of the Black Sticks reach. Edwards scored his second for New Zealand but then Bakker added his second, again a field goal that bounced around the circle before the tall Dutchman fired it home. Minutes later Jonker got his third goal after running onto a ball fired into the circle and tipping it home.

Player of the tournament Robbert Kemperman said that “It is a great feeling, we really wanted that win” , Black Sticks skipper Dean Couzins admitted that he felt “pretty disappointed” after the loss, but said that when the team had a chance to reflect on the overall performance they would be pleased with the steps they had taken. This was a sentiment echoed by coach Colin Batch. “We didn’t come out to play in the first half, but we never expected a silver medal and it is a big step forwards for the team.”

The winning coach Paul van Ass said: “We are heading back to the top again. We are really pleased with the way this tournament has gone, especially with earlier wins over Olympics gold medalist Germany and Australia. He added: “Earlier we had qualified three quarter finals but couldn't win the finals. This time it was important for us to win it. 10-15 yrs ago we weren't there in the hockey domain but now we are there well prepared”

The ranking as per the results is as follows: Netherlands; 2. New Zealand; 3. England.

The 2012–14 Men's FIH Hockey World League was the inaugural season of the FIH Hockey World League for men. The tournament started in August 2012 and finished in January 2014. The Netherlands was already qualified by ranking basis for a Semifinal before being chosen to host an event England is Bronze medal winners in the inaugural Hockey World League thanks to their 2-1 win over Australia.