Hockey players lead the Pro League through a goal-rich victory, revenge for women | NOW

The Dutch hockey players are the new leader in the Pro League. The team of national coach Jeroen Delmee won on Sunday for the second day in a row against England: 3-6. The Orange Women also dealt with England (1-2) and thus took their revenge for the 3-1 defeat of the day before.

The men of the Netherlands and England turned it into a high-scoring game at the Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Center in London. That was already announced in the first minute, when Derck de Vilder put Oranje at 0-1 with a flats in the far corner.

In the second quarter, the Netherlands came to 0-3 via the second goal by De Vilder and a goal by Tjep Hoedemakers, after which the Englishman Nicholas Bandurak ensured a 1-3 halftime score with the fourth field goal of the first half.

Stuart Rushmere made the difference halfway through the third quarter to one (2-3), but the Orange did not let it go any further. Hoedemakers and Floris Wortelboer lifted the lead to 2-5, meaning the game was decided. Rushmere (3-5) and Dennis Warmerdam (3-6) ensured a final score with no less than nine hits.

The Orange Men are now in first place in the Pro League with 28 points from ten matches. Number two India has played one point less and two more matches. In June, the Netherlands will play two more times against Germany, twice against India and twice against Spain.

Van den Assem leads hockey players to victory

The Dutch women again entered London with an inexperienced team. The internationals of national champions Den Bosch and of the losing finalist SCHC were given a rest in the run-up to the Hockey World Cup that will be played in July.

Elena Rayer put the English ahead after ten minutes. The Orange only reached the same level in the second half thanks to a striking penalty corner by Ireen van den Assem. She has returned to the Dutch team after a months-long break.

The 32-year-old Van den Assem also played an important role in the winning goal barely three minutes after the 1-1. The veteran gave the ball to the principal Tessa Clasener at a penalty corner, who made it 1-2 with her first international goal.

On Saturday, the hockey players lost 3-1 to England. Because of that loss, Argentina is certain of the overall victory in the Pro League, which was won by the Netherlands in the past two editions.

This edition of the tournament mainly serves as a preparation for the most important tournament of this year: the world championship. The Netherlands is the defending champion at the tournament, which is played in its own country and in Spain.