Netherlands hit Ireland for six in FIH Pro League
The Netherlands proved why they are Olympic champions and World No 1 as they inflicted a second FIH Pro League defeat on Ireland in Amstelveen in as many days.
A brace from Lisnagarvey's Ben Nelson gave Ireland a major positive to take forward into their remaining FIH Pro League games, however, after Wednesday's 2-0 loss.
Three saves from Luke Roleston had helped to keep the score level at the end of the first quarter and both sides had had a penalty corner before Netherlands scored through the third, Jip Janssen drag-flicking past Roleston to break the deadlock.
Terrence Pieters eventually got the Netherlands' second just before half-time. A ball across the circle popped up off an Irish stick, giving Pieters the opportunity to volley into the net.
The Dutch started the second half quickly, with a penalty corner in the first minute providing them an early chance. The resulting effort was deflected into the body of Lee Cole, and the Netherlands were awarded a penalty stroke, albeit a controversial one, which Jip Janssen snuck past Roleston for the Netherlands' third.
Ireland remained steadfast in their efforts, but a speculative call went the way of the home side again for a corner, which Pepijn van der Heijden flicked low into the net to add a fourth.
The visitors ended the third quarter positively, mounting a series of attacks, the last of which saw brothers Ben and Matthew Nelson connect well down the right flank to make their way into the circle, but selflessness from Ben as he tried to find the final pass rather than taking on the shot at goal gave the Dutch the chance to clear.
Ireland made an ideal start to the final quarter, Sean Murray making a great tackle in the middle of the park and finding Ben Nelson free in the circle to fire into the net and grab Ireland's first. But the Dutch responded, restoring their four-goal lead from open play through Joep Troost.
Despite the game looking out of sight, there were still plenty of positive moments in the closing stages from Ireland. An audacious lob from Ali Empey looked destined for the net but hit the side netting instead, followed by a good interchange from Ben Pasley and Adam McAllister forcing the Dutch into more defensive duties.
Ben Nelson grabbed his second goal of the game sneaking the ball over Visser following a good crash ball, rewarding Ireland for their continued positive play. But the Dutch scored the final goal of the game right on the final whistle.
Speaking after the game Ben Nelson said: "Playing against the top teams in the world, the Olympic Champions; it's always going to be a difficult game in their own backyard.
"It's our first two matches in a block of eight, I think we need to just keep pushing on from now, take the positives from this game, see the areas we need to work on, and then push on to the next six matches."
Ireland Men's Head Coach Mark Tumilty added: "It's hard to be positive after a 6-2 defeat, but we didn't deserve to lose by that margin. We created better opportunities in the first half and yet found ourselves 2-0 down at half-time."
Discussing some of the umpiring decisions, Tumilty said:
"I thought we should have been awarded a stroke in the first half but ended up losing our video referral. The stroke they were awarded should not have been, Luke Roleston was behind Lee Cole on the goal line. I thought those decisions were shocking. I expect decisions to be correct."
Tumilty's side will travel to Antwerp next where they will begin their final stage of the FIH Pro League with an encounter with Belgium on Saturday at 2.30pm Irish time.
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