Orange with the right appearance again ahead of New Zealand (3-0)

The Orange Men also won their second Test match against New Zealand on Saturday afternoon in Eindhoven. Goals from Steijn van Heijningen, Thierry Brinkman and Tjep Hoedemakers gave the Netherlands a 3-0 victory. The Dutch showed they learned from the mistakes of Friday’s 4-3 win, as Lars Balk saw.

“Yesterday was just not good enough,” the 26-year-old defender said after the game with the black sticks on the terrace of Oranje-Rouge. “We won this match, but it was too boring on our part, with too little energy. We talked about that. Today there was a lot more conviction.

Orange was indeed very close to the New Zealanders since the second of Saturday’s game. The forwards put all the pressure on the man in possession and kept the spaces tight. It must be for the black sticks felt like playing hockey in a pressure cooker, with barely a chance to catch your breath. This resulted in countless ball conquests on the Orange side.

Seve van Ass leaves behind his opponent Aidan Sarikaya. The HGC midfielder played his 199th international match today. Photo: Jeroen Meuwsen/Orange Pictures.

Appearance

On the first round of the ball, Balk personally gave the go-ahead for the hot pursuit. ‘Shine!’, the defense chief bellowed loudly on the main pitch in Eindhoven. “We discussed it during the debriefing on Friday. We have to go full throttle every time, fully turn on the tap and beam that there is nothing to be gained against us. I just wanted to make it clear with that shout.

Orange’s approach has been successful. New Zealand sporadically closed in on goalkeeper Maurits Visser and Orange dominated the first half. After chances for Jip Janssen (from a corner) and Tjep Hoedemakers, it was in the nineteenth minute. Steijn van Heijningen, released by Terrance Pieters, made it 1-0 thanks to a kapflats seen with the backhand. Shortly after, Thierry Brinkman hammered the 2-0 against the backhand ropes.

Orange striker Steijn van Heijningen in a duel with New Zealand’s Blair Tarrant. Photo: Jeroen Meuwsen/Orange Pictures

Where Orange fell to New Zealand on Friday after the break, there was no relapse on Saturday. Just before the end of the third quarter, Terrance Pieters set the ball up for Tjep Hoedemakers, who pushed in for the 3-0 fall. In between, New Zealand took two more penalty corners, but Balk’s first shot rendered those attempts harmless on its own.

I kept the zero

In the last quarter of an hour, Orange could have further increased the score. Pieters fired hard at goalkeeper George Enersen’s glove with his backhand and Tijmen Reijenga saw his point from Jorrit Croon’s wonderful pass over the bar. It therefore remained at 3-0, the second international game under national coach Jeroen Delmée in which Orange kept zero after a previous 0-3 against England on June 4.

Happy faces at Jorrit Croon, Derck de Vilder and Terrance Pieters after one of three goals against New Zealand. Photo: Orange Pictures

“Of course I appreciate that,” Balk replies when asked if that clean sheet is always important. “Keeping a clean sheet in international competition is just great. Just like scoring is good for forwards, zero for the back is also nice. Maurits Visser made some good saves today, but in the end you get there clean sheet with the whole team. The press begins with the strikers.

Munching on his healthy sandwich, Balk noted with satisfaction that it had been an instructive diptych with New Zealand, the last two days in Eindhoven. “We have become wiser again. Yesterday we let them step on us in the second half. Today we held our heads up high and stayed at support. We shouldn’t suddenly start playing hockey frivolously with a 2-0 lead. We also told each other that after today’s 2-0. It’s great that we’ve improved that.

Netherlands – New Zealand 3-0 (2-0)
19. Steijn van Heijningen 1-0
23.Thierry Brinkman 2-0
44. Tjep Hoedemakers 3-0

Orange Fisherman; Blok, Janssen, Balk, De Mol, Swaen, Reijenga, Croon, De Vilder, De Geus, Van Heijningen, Van Ass, Pieters, Hoedemakers, Van der Horst, T. Brinkman
Not played: Meijer (k), Van Dam