Thursday, June 12 – Amstelveen: The Netherlands proved why they are Olympic Champions and World #1 in Ireland’s second game in Amstelveen, as the home side secured a 6-2 win. A brace from Lisnagarvey’s Ben Nelson gave Ireland a major positive to take forward into their remaining FIH Pro League games, following two positive performances.
A slightly nervy start from Ireland in the second encounter of the FIH Pro League double-header in Amstelveen saw an early mistake at the back gift the Dutch a chance, which Luke Roleston made no mistake in saving. Ireland settled into the game soon after, with Ben Nelson’s reverse stick effort on goal well blocked.
Ireland threatened to draw first blood after a great period of possession. Ben Pasley played a tricky lifted ball across the face of goal which Alistair Empey almost steered into the net, but a good save from Dutch debutant Mauritz Visser deflected the ball wide.
The Netherlands won the first penalty corner of the game with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter, forcing two textbook saves from Luke Roleston to keep the sides level.
Ireland applied the pressure in the second quarter, deploying their press well to limit the Dutch side’s ability to progress up the pitch. A penalty corner in Ireland’s favour, which could have been a penalty stroke for a heavy tackle in the circle on Adam McAllister, was the first big chance of the quarter, but Lee Cole’s effort was well defended.
The Netherlands responded by winning a penalty corner of their own just two minutes later, which Jip Janssen drag flicked passed Roleston to break the deadlock. Another penalty corner for the home side gave them a chance to double their lead, which Ireland cleared well to deny them.
Terrence Pieters eventually got the Netherlands’ second just before halftime. A ball across the circle popped up off an Irish stick, giving Pieters the opportunity to volley into the net.
The Dutch started the second half quickly, with a penalty corner in the first minute providing them an early chance. The resulting effort was deflected into the body of Lee Cole, and the Netherlands were awarded a penalty stroke, albeit a controversial one, which Jip Janssen snuck past Roleston for the Netherlands’ third.
Ireland remained steadfast in their efforts, but a speculative call went the way of the home side again giving them a corner, which Pepijn van der Heijden flicked low into the net to add a fourth.
Ireland ended the third quarter positively, mounting a series of attacks, the last of which saw brothers Ben and Matthew Nelson connect well down the right flank to make their way into the circle, but selflessness from Ben as he tried to find the final pass rather than taking on the shot at goal gave the Dutch the chance to clear.
Ireland made an ideal start to the final quarter, Sean Murray making a great tackle in the middle of the park and finding Ben Nelson free in the circle to fire into the net and grab Ireland’s first. But the Dutch responded, restoring their four-goal lead from open play through Joep Troost.
Despite the game looking out of sight, there were still plenty of positive moments in the closing stages from Ireland. An audacious lob from Ali Empey looked destined for the net but hit the side netting instead, followed by a good interchange from Ben Pasley and Adam McAllister forcing the Dutch into more defensive duties.
Ben Nelson grabbed his second goal of the game sneaking the ball over Visser following a good crash ball, rewarding Ireland for their continued positive play. But the Dutch would score the final goal of the game right on the final whistle, with the match ending Netherlands 6 – 2 Ireland.
Speaking after the game, goal scorer Ben Nelson said:
“Playing against the top teams in the world, the Olympic Champions; it’s always going to be a difficult game in their own backyard.
It’s our first two matches in a block of eight, I think we need to just keep pushing on from now, take the positives from this game, see the areas we need to work on, and then push on to the next six matches.”
Ireland Men’s Head Coach Mark Tumilty added:
“It’s hard to be positive after a 6-2 defeat, but we didn’t deserve to lose by that margin. We created better opportunities in the first half and yet found ourselves 2-0 down at half-time.”
Discussing some of the umpiring decisions, Tumilty said:
“I thought we should have been awarded a stroke in the first half but ended up losing our video referral. The stroke they were awarded should not have been, Luke Roleston was behind Lee Cole on the goal line. I thought those decisions were shocking. I expect decisions to be correct.”
Ireland will travel to Antwerp next where they will begin their final stage of the FIH Pro League with an encounter with Belgium on Saturday, June 14 at 14:30 Irish Time.