New Delhi, 11 Jan 2014: Two stunning saves from the Netherlands custodian Jaap Stockman saved the day for the orange brigade as they managed to edge out Australia with a second-half goal by Billy Bakker in the Hero Hockey World League Final here on Saturday.
The Dutch bagged three points from the Pool B match to recover from the shock defeat at the hands of Argentina yesterday. They should have won by a better margin but were denied twice by the post and some sloppy finishing. The Dutch need to raise their game in the knock-out stage if they entertain hopes of winning the inaugural League Finals.
The first half proved to be barren with both the teams playing some defensive hockey with not many raids that were worthy of a goal. But one should not miss the good job done by both the goalkeepers to keep the slate clean. Australia had wasted 7 short corners and have paid a penalty. They also had better share of exchanges and ball possession but lacked the sting upfront.
Four minutes after the crossover, Jeroen Hertzberger capitalized on a defensive lapse and set it up perfectly for Billy Bakker, who made no mistake to find the target past Aussie goalie T Lovell.
Australia will play Argentina while the Netherlands will take on Belgium on Monady.
ends