Eight of the 10 teams competing in Brussels started their campaigns on day one of the Women’s FINTRO Hockey World League Semi-Final in Belgium. With the dual prize of qualification for the 2018 Hockey World Cup and a place at the Hockey World League Final 2017 for those finishing in the top slots, this is an event that will see hockey at its best.
There are rich rewards for the top placed teams. The four highest finishers will go on to compete in the showcase end of year event, the Hockey World League Final in Auckland, New Zealand between 17-26 November.
And five automatic berths are available for the 2018 Hockey Women’s World Cup in London, England, although this will increase depending on the outcomes of the upcoming Continental Championships, which are also World Cup qualification events. With this significant detail in mind, all competing nations will be determined to finish as high up the standings as possible to give themselves the best chance of a ticket to the blue riband event in London from 21 July to 5 August 2018.
It was a scorcher on the opening day as temperatures reached the high 30s. It was a day that the Netherlands presented coach Alyson Annan with the perfect birthday present as they showed why they are the number one side in the world. Australia also found their feet quickly, their young side gelling to beat Malaysia – the lowest ranked team in the competition. In the other two games, Italy and China were evenly matched as they shared the spoils in the opening match of the day and New Zealand beat Spain 1-0 in a tightly contested encounter.
China v Italy
In the opening Pool A match, China took an early lead through Gu Bingfeng as she converted a penalty corner in the third minute of the match against Italy (World Ranking: 16). China, ranked eighth in the FIH Hero World Rankings looked much the stronger side in the opening encounters as they camped in the Italian half.
But Italy are always willing to take the game to their opponents and this was no different. With just three minutes left before half-time, Lara Oviedo took the ball neatly round a defender and slotted the ball past ‘keeper Li Dongxiao to even things up.
In the fourth quarter, Wu Mengrong found the target after some good pressure from China. The game seemed to be going with the rankings until three minutes from the end when Eugenie Mastronardi tucked the ball away to even things up after some good build-up from Carolina Pereyra.
Australia v Malaysia
The Hockeyroos took a hold of this game in the opening period of play when Maddy Fitzpatrick got on the end of a fierce penalty corner shot to put the team ranked fourth in the world into the lead against Malaysia.
Despite going behind, Malaysia were very quick to put Australia under pressure, with Norfaiezah Saiuti shooting from the top of the circle to challenge Rachael Lynch in the Australia goal. Australia extend their lead when Fitzpatrick scored her second – again a strong penalty corner shot that flew past the Malaysia defence.
The third Australian goal came from Georgina Morgan in the last minute of play.
Netherlands v Scotland
Scotland’s first foray into Hockey World League Semi-Final action was a bruising encounter with the world number one team, Netherlands. The Dutch side opened their account in the sixth minute as Frederique Matla rasped a shot past Nicola Cochrane in the Scottish goal. The lead was doubled at the end of the quarter when Laurien Leurink scored after a period of pressure on the Scottish defence.
Following the half-time break, Netherlands resumed their domination of possession and were rewarded with an eighth penalty corner. A triple switch saw Lauren Stam with the space to slam the ball past Cochrane to make it 3-0.
The fourth goal came as a result of some great build-up play by Carlien Dirkse van der Heuval, who drifted past two defenders before slipping the ball to Kitty van Male who pushed it home. Scotland’s Nikki Lloyd earned her 100th cap during this match.
New Zealand v Spain
There were two distinctive styles on display as New Zealand (WR: 5) and Spain (WR: 10) faced each other in the fourth match of the day. Olivia Merry got the Black Sticks off to a flying start as she slammed the ball home from a penalty corner in the 19th minute of their pool B encounter with Spain.
The next two quarters were end-to-end as the Spanish team showed some silky skills in build-up play but failed to really trouble Sally Rutherford in the New Zealand goal. For their part, New Zealand played with a lot of pace and physicality and strung some space-creating passes together as they used every inch of the pitch.
The final quarter was the epitome of two teams determined to make their mark on this event. New Zealand knew they need to remain disciplined to protect their lead but they still played their usual attacking game whenever they gained possession. Spain pushed and pushed but a good save by Ruthrford kept the Red Sticks out and gave her side the three points.
Results:
China 2-2 Italy
Australia 3-0 Malaysia
Netherlands 4-0 Scotland
New Zealand 1-0 Spain