Team effort drops Belgium despite dazzling display from D’Hooghe
A sparkling team display rather than any individual standout performance was at the heart of the Netherlands 4-0 victory over near neighbours Belgium. While Red Panthers goalkeeper Aisling D’Hooghe will be disappointed to have seen the ball in the back of her net four times, she will take some consolation that were it not for her acrobatics the scoreline would have been greater.
Despite the scoreline, there were long periods of play in this game when the Netherlands attacked without fruition, and this is something that coach Max Caldas will look at before the next game. In a post match interview Kim Lammers said: “Belgium defended bravely and we had to be very patient in our build up. We play the ball around and when we see a gap, then ‘boom’.”
The Dutch women opened their account through Ellen Hoog (5′), who received a slip pass from Maartje Paumen before unleashing a reverse stick shot into the top corner of the goal. It was to be another 26 minutes before the Netherlands found the goal again, this time through Marloes Keetels who picked up a cross from Hoog and slipped it past the outstretched leg of D’Hooghe. Kim Lammers nearly made it three goals just 30 seconds later when narrowly missed a sublime pass from the halfway line from the ubiquitous Hoog, whose tireless running created endless problems for the Belgium defence.
The Netherlands experienced a scare just before half-time when teenager Emma Puvrez found herself with room to spare in the circle but her shot pulled wide. The Red Panthers were buoyed by this momentary break from defending and earned the first penalty corner of the game, but were unable to get past Joyce Sombroek in the Netherlands goal.
Another busy player in the orange kit was Roos Drost and within seconds she had forced D’Hooghe to make yet another fabulous save, and this was followed just seconds later by another double save from the Red Panthers ‘keeper, first a drag flick from Maartje Paumen and then a follow-up shot from Drost. The inevitable third goal came when Kim Lammers was fouled in the circle and Paumen (44′) stepped up to score from the penalty spot. Drost’s (49’) persistence paid off when she too got on the scoresheet, following up on a Paumen penalty corner to complete the Dutch domination.
Captain of the Red Panthers, Charlotte de Vos, said: “It was a tough game, but our defence was good and we made it difficult for them to play their game. There won’t be many teams winning against them, so we see this as a learning opportunity.”