Hindustan Times: Hockey World League Final: Argentina hold Netherlands; Belgium thrash Spain
Argentina hockey team scored the equalizer in the dying minutes of play to eke out a 3-3 draw in their Pool A match of the FIH?Men’s Hockey World League Final (HWLF)?against the Netherlands, In another match, Belgium thrashed Spain 5-0 thanks to a hat-trick from Loick Luypaert
While hosts India had a rest day at the FIH?Men’s Hockey World League Final (HWLF) on Sunday, Olympic champions Argentina and European champions, the Netherlands, provided the fans a lot to cheer about with a thrilling encounter at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
Argentina scored the equalizer in the dying minutes of play to eke out a 3-3 draw in their Pool A match against the Dutch. The South Americans, who lost 2-3 to Belgium in their tournament opener on Friday, came from behind twice in the match, to register their first point in the 10-day event.The draw also helped the Netherlands open their account — they were stunned 2-3 by Spain in their opening game on Saturday.
After the Netherlands took a 2-0 lead through Thiery Brinkman (9th minute) and Valentin Verga (37th), the Los Leones staged a superb comeback to draw level through penalty corner strikes from Matias Rey (45th) and Lucas Vila.
The Dutch managed to restore their lead in the 55th minute through Mirco Pruijser, who scored a penalty corner before Gonzalo Peillat converted a set-piece a minute from the hooter to help Argentina share the spoils.
Luypaert hat-trick
Earlier in the day, Loick Luypaert scored the first hat-trick of the tournament as Olympic silver-medalists Belgium outplayed lower-ranked Spain 5-0 for their second straight win of the HWLF.