Yesterday at 9:58 PM • Modified yesterday at 11:13 PM
The Oranje-Rood hockey players have not lost a match this season, until tonight. In the final of the cup tournament, the men of HC ‘s-Hertogenbosch were too strong 2-3 in Eindhoven. For Jaïr van der Horst (29), player of the Den Bosch club, it is the second cup win in a row. Against the team where he will play next season.
Van der Horst is a child of the club. With Oranje Zwart, which later merged into Oranje-Rood, he immediately won two national titles as a youngster. After his period in Eindhoven he left for Spain. He then played for HC ‘s-Hertogenbosch since 2021, with a stopover in Tilburg.
Transfer to the loser
Next summer he will return to his old love. “There has been more contact in recent years, but it didn’t feel like the right time,” says the Eindhove native. “Now it is, because the club has taken many positive steps.”
According to Van der Horst, the Oranje-Rood is alive again. “I’m definitely not going to phase out next season in Eindhoven, I want to contribute to the battle for prizes,” he says after the match. “Hopefully they will save the championship until then, because we are going for it this season with Den Bosch.”
Playoffs
It is still uncertain whether HC ‘s-Hertogenbosch will make it to the play-offs. The team is fifth and still has to rise one place in the last three games. If that works, leader Oranje-Red will again await in the semi-finals.
“We always take the cup tournament seriously.”
In any case, the first prize this season has been won for the Den Bosch formation. “We always take the cup tournament seriously. It’s a shame that many other teams don’t,” says the hockey player. “Orange-Red does and then you can see how beautiful it is in front of thousands of supporters. Perhaps the hockey association should give it a cash prize or a qualification for the Euro Hockey League, that will undoubtedly be motivating.”
It will not be a party until the late hours for the people of Den Bosch. “We will train again tomorrow, hopefully a bit quiet after such a tough match. And our focus will then be on the competition.”
Captain Joep de Mol (30) was disappointed afterwards about the defeat of his Oranje-Rood team, but was pleased with the game. “We showed good hockey with a lot of chances, but even if we had continued for half an hour longer, it would not have fallen again.”
The national title is the main goal of this defender from Berkel-Enschot. “But I would only have been really disappointed if that was our last chance for a prize,” says De Mol. “Maybe it’s a good thing that we finally lost again. We have both feet on the ground and have to work hard for results.”
