Bhubaneswar: The Netherlands rode on a brace by Thijs Dam Van to storm into the quarterfinals of the Men’s Hockey World Cup after thrashing a hapless Canada 5-0 in a cross-over match at the Kalinga Stadium here Tuesday.
The Dutch were in a scoring spree as Thijs (40th and 58th minutes), Lars Balk (16th), Robbert Kemperman (20th) and Thierry Brinkman (41st) struck for them. They were in their dominant best with 60 per cent possession of the ball.
They also earned four penalty corners, but couldn’t convert any. Canada were at the receiving end. However, they got one penalty corner and couldn’t take any advantage.
The Dutch pushed the ball back, but Canadians stole it mid-way. The World No.4 team somehow managed to get back the ball again outside the Canadian circle, but Netherlands skipper Billy Bakker failed to latch on.
Netherlands tried from the right flank, but were thwarted by a perfect marking by Canada defence. The Dutch failed to make inroads into the Canadian defence again, but David Carter denied Netherlands with an incredible save.
Canada got a free hit and Ho Garcia attempted to advance. But Netherlands intercepted and stole the ball right away and Seve van Ass’ strike was thwarted by Panesar. Canadians played a long crash ball, which passed the backline. Dutch got their first penalty corner in the 14thminute but failed to make it count.
At the start of the second quarter Netherlands came with a new vigour and were bang on target in the 16th minute. Bob de Voogd’s shot found Carter’s body. But Lars Balk took a sliding reflection and scored their first goal.
The Dutch got a penalty stroke immediately after it because of obstruction by Scott Tupper. But Carter stood like a rock to save a powerful stroke from Jeroen Hertzberger. The Netherlands struck their second goal in the 20th minute when Kemperman sent one crashing into the net from the edge of the circle.
The Canadians found their way back with couple of forays into the Dutch circle, but failed to finish. The World No.4 team managed to get the ball back, but Voogd failed to take a shot into Canadian circle. The Dutch were 2-0 ahead after the end of the first half.
They created plenty of chances, but often failed to find the back of the nets. However, after the change of ends, Netherlands were into an early attack and Canada started to chase like the first half. Unfortunately, Sander de Wijn took a tumble dangerously and had to be escorted off the pitch.
Netherlands continued with their surge and earned their second penalty corner in the 38th minute. But Carter had a field day as he saved it with ease. However, they got another PC immediately after it, but they failed to find the target again, hitting wide of the goalpost.
The Dutch persistency continued and Thijs got a nice deflection to finish a combined team effort in the 40th minute to score their third goal. They were into their scoring spree once again as Brinkman joined the party in the 41st minute to put them 4-0 ahead.
Canada fought back to earn their first penalty corner in the last minute of the third quarter, but failed to open their account.
In the final quarter Canada tried their best to get back into the game. But they were put under tremendous pressure by their opponents. Netherlands got their fourth penalty corner in the 56th minute, but faltered again.
However, the Dutch got their fifth goal in the two minutes from the hooter through Thijs to seal the fate of the lopsided encounter.
