Netherlands have been crowned
Hockey World Cup winners for a record eighth time after a crushing 6-0 win
ended Ireland’s fairy tale tournament. Four goals in a seven minute spell around
the half-time break earned the Dutch an emphatic victory.
Ireland had won new fans on their
unlikely road to the final but found no answer to their opponents' intensity. Despite
the defeat, Ireland is expected to climb up to 10th in the world rankings for
the first time. Lidewij Welten, Kelly Jonker, Kitty van Male, Malou Pheninckx,
Marloes Keetels and Caia van Maasakker all scored for the Dutch, who have
extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 32 matches.
The top four goal scorers in the
tournament all came from Alyson Annan's squad, with van Male topping the order
with an incredible eight goals for the defending champions. The only
other World Cup meeting between these two teams took place in the group stages
of the 2002 tournament when the Dutch crushed Ireland 6-0 on their way to the
final.
The
period before and after the interval firmly settled the contest and ended any
chance Ireland had of getting back into the game, as the Netherlands continued
their rampant form to clinically seal the gold medal. Ireland kept the Dutch
scoreless in the final quarter and could have snatched a consolation at the
other end as they once again showed their grit and work-ethic, giving
everything right up until the final whistle.
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