Jonker's hat-trick heroics delight capacity home crowd

A capacity crowd were treated to a sumptuous example of flowing, attacking play and the first hat-trick of the Rabobank Hockey World Cup when reigning Olympic champions the Netherlands took to the field for the final game on day one of the tournament. The hat-trick hero was Kelly Jonkers as the Netherlands romped home to an emphatic 6-1 victory over the 9th-ranked team Japan in their opening match. 

A 15,000 crowd, mainly wearing orange, watched as the Netherlands started the match in explosive fashion and needed just seven minutes to make the first impression on the score-sheet. Kelly Jonker touched home a cross from the left before netting a second in the 21st minute after a sparkling solo run down the right by Roos Drost. 

Japan battled bravely but the Netherlands were simply on another level and soon added a third thanks to Maartje Paumen's low penalty corner drag-flick in the 23rd minute. 

The Dutch team continued their rampant form in the second half, with Ellen Hoog taking the score to 4-0 with smart turn and finish in the 39th minute before Kelly Jonker completed her hat-trick with another instinctive close range effort three minutes later.  

Paumen claimed her second  - and the Netherlands' sixth - goal of the match from the penalty spot, sending a high flick beyond the reach of goalkeeper Yuka Yoshikawa, who came on as a second half substitute for first half Ryoko Oie.

Japan scored a late consolation goal through Akane Shibata (65') but by then all the damage was done and the late strike did little to dampen the party atmosphere in the stadium, as the fans celebrated a successful start to what promises to be a wonderful Rabobank Hockey World Cup.

"We were nervous before the game," said Ellen Hoog after the game. "This was such a great, great atmosphere and that could have worked against us but we gained energy from the crowd. We expected a good start to the tournament, but we never expected this sort of start." The midfielder did offer a word of caution. "We were caught in a moment of poor concentration, so that is something we will look at on the video and fix for the next game."

Official Match Report (PDF)