Bhubaneswar: Spain handed a shock 3-2 defeat to World No.4 Netherlands in a nail-biting pool A contest of the Men’s Hockey World League Finals here at Kalinga Stadium here, Saturday. The goals for Spain were scored by Pau Quemada (15th), Enrique Gonzalez (35th) and Diego Arana (39th) while the Dutch goals came off the sticks of Lars Balk (37th) and Mirco Pruijser (55th).
Spain, ranked much lower to Netherlands at No.9 looked a better side right from the start and played a lot of passes having maximum ball possession. Had they utilied all the chances that came their way, the margin of victory could have been emphatic.
After dominating much of the first corner, Spain took the lead as Quemada converted the side’s first penalty corner with a fierce hit. The Dutch has a chance to restore parity a couple of minutes before the interval, but Thierry Brinkman’s cross went abegging with no Dutch player at hand to stab it in.
The third quarter saw a rush of goals. First Gonzalez converted another penalty corner to make it 2-0 for Spain. The Oranjes, however, were quick to retaliate and reduced the margin through Balk. However, a couple of minutes later it was 3-1 for Spain as Arana scored a field goal.
Spain 3 The Netherlands 2
Pau Quemada, Lars Balk
Enrique Gonzalez Mirco Pruijser
Diego Arana
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